Dynamic Vascular-Glial-Neuronal Interactions in Health and Disease

A special issue of Neuroglia (ISSN 2571-6980).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 October 2021) | Viewed by 7680

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physiology, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA
Interests: intercellular signaling at the neurovascular; neurovascular uncoupling; vascular tone; Ca2+ dynamics; astrocyte biology; cerebral perfusion; hypertension; neurovascular unit
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Dynamic crosstalk interactions among components of the neurovascular unit (NVU) maintain brain homeostasis. Importantly, neural and glial-derived signals regulate cerebral blood flow and the energetic demands of the brain. Impairments in these key constitutive processes uncouple communication at the NVU, impair cerebral perfusion, increase inflammation, and lead to progressive neurodegeneration.

Efforts have been devoted to the understanding of both physiological and pathological intercellular crosstalk at the NVU. Physiological processes such as cerebral autoregulation, neurovascular coupling, and vasculo-neuronal coupling are common pathways used to understand the state of oxygen and glucose delivery to the brain. Notably, both intrinsic and extrinsic cellular mechanisms can differentially alter the functional integrity of the NVU. Poorly understood are the cell-specific signaling pathways, as well as the stimuli thresholds (i.e., ischemia, intravascular and intracranial pressures) by which certain conditions switch from physiology to pathology. In addition, the contribution of cardiovascular risk factors and glymphatic dysfunction on neurodegeneration, vascular dementia, and Alzheimer’s are current critical areas of research.

This Special Issue seeks papers related to how disease processes impact brain hemodynamics, perfusion, and metabolism. Highlights on the importance of brain region specificity, on circuit connectivity, as well as studies addressing the molecular mechanisms underlying cell-specific crosstalk in health and disease are welcome. 

Prof. Jessica Filosa
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Neuroglia is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • neurovascular coupling
  • neurovascular unit
  • astrogliosis
  • microgliosis
  • intercellular crosstalk
  • vascular function
  • ion channels
  • inflammation
  • blood–brain barrier integrity
  • calcium

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

9 pages, 4249 KiB  
Article
Direct Deviations in Astrocyte Free Ca2+ Concentration Control Multiple Arteriole Tone States
by Jordan N. Haidey and Grant R. Gordon
Neuroglia 2021, 2(1), 48-56; https://doi.org/10.3390/neuroglia2010006 - 14 Oct 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3189
Abstract
Astrocytes elicit bidirectional control of microvascular diameter in acutely isolated brain slices through vasoconstriction and vasodilation pathways that can be differentially recruited via the free Ca2+ concentration in endfeet and/or the metabolic status of the tissue. However, the Ca2+-level hypothesis [...] Read more.
Astrocytes elicit bidirectional control of microvascular diameter in acutely isolated brain slices through vasoconstriction and vasodilation pathways that can be differentially recruited via the free Ca2+ concentration in endfeet and/or the metabolic status of the tissue. However, the Ca2+-level hypothesis has not been tested using direct manipulation. To overcome this, we used Ca2+-clamp whole-cell patching of peri-arteriole astrocytes to change astrocyte-free Ca2+ to different concentrations and examined the vascular response. We discovered that clamping Ca2+ at the approximate resting value (100 nM) had no impact on arteriole diameter in a pre-constricted arteriole. However, a moderate elevation to 250 nM elicited sustained vasodilation that was blocked by the COX-1 antagonist SC-560 (500 nM). The vasodilation to 250 nM Ca2+ was sensitive to the metabolic state, as it converted to vasoconstriction when oxygen tension was dramatically elevated. In normal oxygen, clamping astrocyte Ca2+ well above the resting level (750 nM) produced sustained vasoconstriction, which converted to vasodilation in the 20-HETE blocker HET0016 (1 μM). This response was fully blocked by the addition of SC-560 (500 nM), showing that 20-HETE-induced vasoconstriction dominated the dilatory action of COX-1. These data demonstrate that direct changes in astrocyte free Ca2+ can control multiple arteriole tone states through different mediators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dynamic Vascular-Glial-Neuronal Interactions in Health and Disease)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

12 pages, 621 KiB  
Review
Neurovascular Coupling in Seizures
by G. Campbell Teskey and Cam Ha T. Tran
Neuroglia 2021, 2(1), 36-47; https://doi.org/10.3390/neuroglia2010005 - 11 Oct 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3720
Abstract
Neurovascular coupling is a key control mechanism in cerebral blood flow (CBF) regulation. Importantly, this process was demonstrated to be affected in several neurological disorders, including epilepsy. Neurovascular coupling (NVC) is the basis for functional brain imaging, such as PET, SPECT, fMRI, and [...] Read more.
Neurovascular coupling is a key control mechanism in cerebral blood flow (CBF) regulation. Importantly, this process was demonstrated to be affected in several neurological disorders, including epilepsy. Neurovascular coupling (NVC) is the basis for functional brain imaging, such as PET, SPECT, fMRI, and fNIRS, to assess and map neuronal activity, thus understanding NVC is critical to properly interpret functional imaging signals. However, hemodynamics, as assessed by these functional imaging techniques, continue to be used as a surrogate to map seizure activity; studies of NVC and cerebral blood flow control during and following seizures are rare. Recent studies have provided conflicting results, with some studies showing focal increases in CBF at the onset of a seizure while others show decreases. In this brief review article, we provide an overview of the current knowledge state of neurovascular coupling and discuss seizure-related alterations in neurovascular coupling and CBF control. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dynamic Vascular-Glial-Neuronal Interactions in Health and Disease)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop