Astrocytes are abundant glial cells in the central nervous system (CNS) that perform diverse functions in health and disease. Astrocyte dysfunction is found in numerous diseases, including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, Huntington disease and neuropsychiatric disorders. Astrocytes ...
However, astrocytes are also vulnerable to oxidative stress, which may affect their protective and supportive functions. This paper examines the influence of calcium and iron on astrocytes and determines if cell death could be mediated by mitochondrial dysfunction. We provide evidence that the events ...
Our understanding of astrocytes and their role in neurological diseases has increased considerably over the past two decades as the diverse roles of these cells have become recognized. Our evolving understanding of these cells suggests that they are more than support cells for neurons and that they ...
They interact with multiple cell types, including neurons, glial cells and blood vessels, and are involved or implicated in brain disorders. Progress has been made in understanding astrocytes, but the field lacks detailed information concerning how they perform their multifarious functions, and how ...
Kimelberg HK, Nedergaard M (2010) Functions of astrocytes and their potential as therapeutic targets. Neurotherapeutics 7:338–353 Article PubMed CAS Google Scholar Parpura V, Heneka MT, Montana V et al (2012) Glial cells in (patho)physiology. J Neurochem 121:4–27 Article PubMed CAS Goog...
Functions of Astroglia Structural function All neural elements develop from the neuroepithelial cells that at the very beginning of the embryogenesis gave birth to radial glia, which served as both the source of neural precursors and the scaffold that allowed neural cells to reach their final destin...
Their glial role is perfectly performed in the healthy CNS as they support functions of neurons. The omnipresence of astrocytes throughout the white and grey matter and their intimate relation with blood vessels of the CNS, as well as numerous immunity-related actions that these cells are capable...
This is not surprising when we consider that they must carry out their functions in specific regions of the nervous system.1 For example, we find such specialised astrocytes as the retinal Müller cells and the Bergmann glia in the cerebellum.5 The astrocytic cells in the subventricular zone (...
Glial cells account for over half of the brain'scells. They do not have the same cell lineage as neurons and their functions are very different. Until recently they were considered to be the brain's "cleaners," but the researchers realized that they also play an active role in releasing ...
Astrocytes as vital cells in the central nervous system are crucial for brain health and function. Recent research shows that they influence higher cognitive functions and behaviors by regulating local neuronal activity. During stress...