Recently scientists have shown that
astrocytes may communicate like neurons by shooting off, or releasing, chemical messages, called transmitters, to neighboring cells.
Human stem cell-derived
astrocytes replicate human prions in aPRNPgenotype--dependent manner," The Journal of Experimental Medicine, 2017; jem.
Because inflammation is the common denominator in many brain disorders, better understanding of
astrocytes and their interactions with other cell types in the brain could provide important clues into what goes wrong in disease.
14) Mice deficient for the genes in this pathway (Lif, gp130, Lifr, or Stat3) show impairment of astrocytic differentiation of NSCs in vivo, indicating that JAK-STAT3 signaling is indispensable for the production of
astrocytes during brain develop ment.
We show for the first time that portions of synapses are literally eaten by
astrocytes because of sleep loss," Bellesi told (https://www.
The specific expression of LacZ under the control of the hGFAP promoter means that it is feasible to specifically introduce other exogenous genes into
astrocytes (Yeo et al.
The decline in
astrocyte activation with disease progression is another mystery, she said.
Inflammatory changes in the form of higher levels of brain
astrocytes are thought to be a very early indicator of disease onset," explains principal investigator Professor Agneta Nordberg at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Center for Alzheimer Research at KarolinskaInstitutet.
For example, in
astrocytes with an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis- (ALS-) linked mutation in mitochondrial superoxide dismutase ([SOD1.
Smith and his colleagues dribbled glutamate--a chemical messenger commonly used by neurons--into a dish containing
astrocytes modified to glow when calcium levels go up.
Although the effects of vitamin E on neuronal cells have been well documented, knowledge on
astrocytes is still lacking and the concern on
astrocytes could promote better protection to neuronal cells.
Astrocytes maintain high intracellular concentrations of certain antioxidants, such as vitamins E and C and antioxidant enzymes, which play a major neuroprotective role in brain resistance to the deleterious effects of superoxides (Lotharius et al.
