No Longer Underappreciated: The Emerging Concept of Astrocyte Heterogeneity in Neuroscience
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Laboratory of Glia Biology, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain and Disease Research, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
2
Laboratory of Neuronal Wiring, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain and Disease Research, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
3
Life & Medical Sciences (LIMES) Institute, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany
4
The Bioinformatics CRO, Niceville, FL 32578, USA
5
Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Brain Sci. 2020, 10(3), 168; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10030168
Received: 13 November 2019
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Revised: 2 March 2020
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Accepted: 5 March 2020
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Published: 13 March 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding the Molecular Diversity of Astrocytes)
Astrocytes are ubiquitous in the central nervous system (CNS). These cells possess thousands of individual processes, which extend out into the neuropil, interacting with neurons, other glia and blood vessels. Paralleling the wide diversity of their interactions, astrocytes have been reported to play key roles in supporting CNS structure, metabolism, blood-brain-barrier formation and control of vascular blood flow, axon guidance, synapse formation and modulation of synaptic transmission. Traditionally, astrocytes have been studied as a homogenous group of cells. However, recent studies have uncovered a surprising degree of heterogeneity in their development and function, in both the healthy and diseased brain. A better understanding of astrocyte heterogeneity is urgently needed to understand normal brain function, as well as the role of astrocytes in response to injury and disease.
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Keywords:
astrocyte; heterogeneity; morphology; development; molecular profiling; physiology; function; injury and disease; injury and disease
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MDPI and ACS Style
Pestana, F.; Edwards-Faret, G.; Belgard, T.G.; Martirosyan, A.; Holt, M.G. No Longer Underappreciated: The Emerging Concept of Astrocyte Heterogeneity in Neuroscience. Brain Sci. 2020, 10, 168. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10030168
AMA Style
Pestana F, Edwards-Faret G, Belgard TG, Martirosyan A, Holt MG. No Longer Underappreciated: The Emerging Concept of Astrocyte Heterogeneity in Neuroscience. Brain Sciences. 2020; 10(3):168. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10030168
Chicago/Turabian StylePestana, Francisco, Gabriela Edwards-Faret, T. G. Belgard, Araks Martirosyan, and Matthew G. Holt. 2020. "No Longer Underappreciated: The Emerging Concept of Astrocyte Heterogeneity in Neuroscience" Brain Sciences 10, no. 3: 168. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10030168
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