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Tremblay MÈ, Verkhratsky A. General Pathophysiology of Microglia. ADVANCES IN NEUROBIOLOGY 2024; 37:3-14. [PMID: 39207683 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-55529-9_1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Microglia, which are the resident innate immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS), have emerged as critical for maintaining health by not only ensuring proper development, activity, and plasticity of neurones and glial cells but also maintaining and restoring homeostasis when faced with various challenges across the lifespan. This chapter is dedicated to the current understanding of microglia, including their beneficial versus detrimental roles, which are highly complex, rely on various microglial states, and intimately depend on their spatiotemporal context. Microglia are first contextualized within the perspective of finding therapeutic strategies to cure diseases in the twenty-first century-the overall functions of neuroglia with relation one to another and to neurones, and their shared CNS environment. A historical framework is provided, and the main principles of glial neuropathology are enunciated. The current view of microglial nomenclature is then covered, notably by discussing the rejected concepts of microglial activation, their polarisation into M1 and M2 phenotypes, and neuroinflammation. The transformation of the microglial population through the addition, migration, and elimination of individual members, as well as their dynamic metamorphosis between a wide variety of structural and functional states, based on the experienced physiological and pathological stimuli, is subsequently discussed. Lastly, the perspective of microglia as a cell type endowed with a health status determining their outcomes on adaptive CNS plasticity as well as disease pathology is proposed for twenty-first-century approaches to disease prevention and treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie-Ève Tremblay
- Division of Medical Sciences, Medical Sciences Building, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.
- Axe neurosciences, Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Québec City, QC, Canada.
- Neurology and Neurosurgery Department, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Université Laval, Québec City, QC, Canada.
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of British Columbia, Life Sciences Center, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
| | - Alexei Verkhratsky
- Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
- Department of Neurosciences,University of the Basque Country,, Leioa, Spain.
- Department of Stem Cell Biology, State Research Institute Centre for Innovative Medicine, Vilnius, Lithuania.
- Department of Forensic Analytical Toxicology, School of Forensic Medicine, China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
- IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain.
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Verkhratsky A, Arranz AM, Ciuba K, Pękowska A. Evolution of neuroglia. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2022; 1518:120-130. [PMID: 36285711 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
The evolution of the nervous system progressed through cellular diversification and specialization of functions. Conceptually, the nervous system is composed of electrically excitable neuronal networks connected by chemical synapses and nonexcitable glial cells that provide for homeostasis and defense. The evolution of neuroglia began with the emergence of the centralized nervous system and proceeded through a continuous increase in their complexity. In the primate brain, especially in the brain of humans, the astrocyte lineage is exceedingly complex, with the emergence of new types of astroglial cells possibly involved in interlayer communication and integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexei Verkhratsky
- Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.,Achucarro Basque Center for Neuroscience, Leioa, Spain.,IKERBASQUE Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain.,Department of Forensic Analytical Toxicology, School of Forensic Medicine, China Medical University, Shenyang, China.,Department of Stem Cell Biology, State Research Institute Centre for Innovative Medicine, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Amaia M Arranz
- Achucarro Basque Center for Neuroscience, Leioa, Spain.,IKERBASQUE Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Katarzyna Ciuba
- Dioscuri Centre of Chromatin Biology and Epigenomics, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Aleksandra Pękowska
- Dioscuri Centre of Chromatin Biology and Epigenomics, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
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3
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Verkhratsky A, Rodrigues JJ, Pivoriunas A, Zorec R, Semyanov A. Astroglial atrophy in Alzheimer’s disease. Pflugers Arch 2019; 471:1247-1261. [DOI: 10.1007/s00424-019-02310-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2019] [Revised: 08/23/2019] [Accepted: 09/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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Abstract
As the nervous system evolved from the diffused to centralised form, the neurones were joined by the appearance of the supportive cells, the neuroglia. Arguably, these non-neuronal cells evolve into a more diversified cell family than the neurones are. The first ancestral neuroglia appeared in flatworms being mesenchymal in origin. In the nematode C. elegans proto-astrocytes/supportive glia of ectodermal origin emerged, albeit the ensheathment of axons by glial cells occurred later in prawns. The multilayered myelin occurred by convergent evolution of oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells in vertebrates above the jawless fishes. Nutritive partitioning of the brain from the rest of the body appeared in insects when the hemolymph-brain barrier, a predecessor of the blood-brain barrier was formed. The defensive cellular mechanism required specialisation of bona fide immune cells, microglia, a process that occurred in the nervous system of leeches, bivalves, snails, insects and above. In ascending phylogeny, new type of glial cells, such as scaffolding radial glia, appeared and as the bran sizes enlarged, the glia to neurone ratio increased. Humans possess some unique glial cells not seen in other animals.
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Helm C, Karl A, Beckers P, Kaul-Strehlow S, Ulbricht E, Kourtesis I, Kuhrt H, Hausen H, Bartolomaeus T, Reichenbach A, Bleidorn C. Early evolution of radial glial cells in Bilateria. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.0743. [PMID: 28724733 PMCID: PMC5543218 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2017] [Accepted: 06/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Bilaterians usually possess a central nervous system, composed of neurons and supportive cells called glial cells. Whereas neuronal cells are highly comparable in all these animals, glial cells apparently differ, and in deuterostomes, radial glial cells are found. These particular secretory glial cells may represent the archetype of all (macro) glial cells and have not been reported from protostomes so far. This has caused controversial discussions of whether glial cells represent a homologous bilaterian characteristic or whether they (and thus, centralized nervous systems) evolved convergently in the two main clades of bilaterians. By using histology, transmission electron microscopy, immunolabelling and whole-mount in situ hybridization, we show here that protostomes also possess radial glia-like cells, which are very likely to be homologous to those of deuterostomes. Moreover, our antibody staining indicates that the secretory character of radial glial cells is maintained throughout their various evolutionary adaptations. This implies an early evolution of radial glial cells in the last common ancestor of Protostomia and Deuterostomia. Furthermore, it suggests that an intraepidermal nervous system—composed of sensory cells, neurons and radial glial cells—was probably the plesiomorphic condition in the bilaterian ancestor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Conrad Helm
- Sars International Center for Marine Molecular Biology, University of Bergen, 5008 Bergen, Norway
| | - Anett Karl
- Paul-Flechsig-Institute for Brain Research, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.,Translational Center for Regenerative Medicine, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.,Carl-Ludwig-Institute for Physiology, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Patrick Beckers
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, University of Bonn, 53121 Bonn, Germany
| | | | - Elke Ulbricht
- Biotechnology Center, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Ioannis Kourtesis
- Sars International Center for Marine Molecular Biology, University of Bergen, 5008 Bergen, Norway
| | - Heidrun Kuhrt
- Paul-Flechsig-Institute for Brain Research, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Harald Hausen
- Sars International Center for Marine Molecular Biology, University of Bergen, 5008 Bergen, Norway
| | - Thomas Bartolomaeus
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, University of Bonn, 53121 Bonn, Germany
| | - Andreas Reichenbach
- Paul-Flechsig-Institute for Brain Research, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christoph Bleidorn
- Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), 28006 Madrid, Spain
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Zhu W, Mao Z, Zhu C, Li M, Cao C, Guan Y, Yuan J, Xie G, Guan X. Adolescent exposure to cocaine increases anxiety-like behavior and induces morphologic and neurochemical changes in the hippocampus of adult rats. Neuroscience 2015; 313:174-83. [PMID: 26621120 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.11.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2015] [Revised: 10/24/2015] [Accepted: 11/18/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Repeated exposure to cocaine during adolescence may affect both physical and psychological conditions in the brain, and increase the risk of psychiatric disorders and addiction behaviors in adulthood. Adolescence represents a critical development period for the hippocampus. Moreover, different regions of the hippocampus are involved in different functions. Dorsal hippocampus (dHP) has been implicated in learning and memory, whereas ventral hippocampus (vHP) plays an important role in emotional processing. In this study, the rats that were exposed to cocaine during adolescence (postnatal days, P28-P42) showed higher anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze test in adulthood (P80), but displayed normal spatial learning and memory in the Morris water maze test. Furthermore, repeated exposure to cocaine during adolescence lead to alterations in morphology of pyramidal neurons, activities of astrocytes, and levels of proteins that involved in synaptic transmission, apoptosis, inflammation and addiction in both dHP and vHP of adult rats. These findings suggest that repeated exposure to cocaine during adolescence in rats may elicit morphologic and neurochemical changes in the hippocampus when the animals reach adulthood. These changes may contribute to the increased susceptibility for psychiatric disorders and addiction seen in adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- W Zhu
- Department of Human Anatomy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Z Mao
- Department of Human Anatomy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - C Zhu
- Department of Pharmacology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - M Li
- Department of Human Anatomy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - C Cao
- Department of Pharmacology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Y Guan
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - J Yuan
- Department of Pharmacology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - G Xie
- Department of Human Anatomy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - X Guan
- Department of Human Anatomy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
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7
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Xing L, McDonald H, Da Fonte DF, Gutierrez-Villagomez JM, Trudeau VL. Dopamine D1 receptor activation regulates the expression of the estrogen synthesis gene aromatase B in radial glial cells. Front Neurosci 2015; 9:310. [PMID: 26388722 PMCID: PMC4557113 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2015.00310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2015] [Accepted: 08/18/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Radial glial cells (RGCs) are abundant stem-like non-neuronal progenitors that are important for adult neurogenesis and brain repair, yet little is known about their regulation by neurotransmitters. Here we provide evidence for neuronal-glial interactions via a novel role for dopamine to stimulate RGC function. Goldfish were chosen as the model organism due to the abundance of RGCs and regenerative abilities of the adult central nervous system. A close anatomical relationship was observed between tyrosine hydroxylase-positive catecholaminergic cell bodies and axons and dopamine-D1 receptor expressing RGCs along the ventricular surface of telencephalon, a site of active neurogenesis. A primary cell culture model was established and immunofluorescence analysis indicates that in vitro RGCs from female goldfish retain their major characteristics in vivo, including expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein and brain lipid binding protein. The estrogen synthesis enzyme aromatase B is exclusively found in RGCs, but this is lost as cells differentiate to neurons and other glial types in adult teleost brain. Pharmacological experiments using the cultured RGCs established that specific activation of dopamine D1 receptors up-regulates aromatase B mRNA through a cyclic adenosine monophosphate-dependent molecular mechanism. These data indicate that dopamine enhances the steroidogenic function of this neuronal progenitor cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Xing
- Department of Biology, Centre for Advanced Research in Environmental Genomics, University of Ottawa Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Heather McDonald
- Department of Biology, Centre for Advanced Research in Environmental Genomics, University of Ottawa Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Dillon F Da Fonte
- Department of Biology, Centre for Advanced Research in Environmental Genomics, University of Ottawa Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Juan M Gutierrez-Villagomez
- Department of Biology, Centre for Advanced Research in Environmental Genomics, University of Ottawa Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Vance L Trudeau
- Department of Biology, Centre for Advanced Research in Environmental Genomics, University of Ottawa Ottawa, ON, Canada
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8
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Verkhratsky A, Marutle A, Rodríguez-Arellano JJ, Nordberg A. Glial Asthenia and Functional Paralysis: A New Perspective on Neurodegeneration and Alzheimer's Disease. Neuroscientist 2014; 21:552-568. [PMID: 25125026 DOI: 10.1177/1073858414547132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Neuroglia are represented by several population of cells heterogeneous in structure and function that provide for the homeostasis of the brain and the spinal cord. Neuroglial cells are also central for neuroprotection and defence of the central nervous system against exo- and endogenous insults. At the early stages of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease neuroglial cells become asthenic and lose some of their homeostatic, neuroprotective, and defensive capabilities. Astroglial reactivity, for example, correlates with preservation of cognitive function in patients with mild cognitive impairment and prodromal Alzheimer's disease. Here, we overview the experimental data indicating glial paralysis in neurodegeneration and argue that loss of glial function is fundamental for defining the progression of neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexei Verkhratsky
- Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK Achucarro Center for Neuroscience, IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain Department of Neurosciences, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU and CIBERNED, Leioa, Spain University of Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
| | - Amelia Marutle
- Karolinska Institutet, Dept NVS, Center for Alzheimer Research, Translational Alzheimer Neurobiology, Novum, Huddinge, Sweden
| | - J J Rodríguez-Arellano
- Achucarro Center for Neuroscience, IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain Department of Neurosciences, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU and CIBERNED, Leioa, Spain
| | - Agneta Nordberg
- Karolinska Institutet, Dept NVS, Center for Alzheimer Research, Translational Alzheimer Neurobiology, Novum, Huddinge, Sweden Department of Geriatric Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden
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9
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Hertz L. The Glutamate-Glutamine (GABA) Cycle: Importance of Late Postnatal Development and Potential Reciprocal Interactions between Biosynthesis and Degradation. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2013; 4:59. [PMID: 23750153 PMCID: PMC3664331 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2013.00059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 160] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2013] [Accepted: 05/02/2013] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The gold standard for studies of glutamate-glutamine (GABA) cycling and its connections to brain biosynthesis from glucose of glutamate and GABA and their subsequent metabolism are the elegant in vivo studies by (13)C magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), showing the large fluxes in the cycle. However, simpler experiments in intact brain tissue (e.g., immunohistochemistry), brain slices, cultured brain cells, and mitochondria have also made important contributions to the understanding of details, mechanisms, and functional consequences of glutamate/GABA biosynthesis and degradation. The purpose of this review is to attempt to integrate evidence from different sources regarding (i) the enzyme(s) responsible for the initial conversion of α-ketoglutarate to glutamate; (ii) the possibility that especially glutamate oxidation is essentially confined to astrocytes; and (iii) the ontogenetically very late onset and maturation of glutamine-glutamate (GABA) cycle function. Pathway models based on the functional importance of aspartate for glutamate synthesis suggest the possibility of interacting pathways for biosynthesis and degradation of glutamate and GABA and the use of transamination as the default mechanism for initiation of glutamate oxidation. The late development and maturation are related to the late cortical gliogenesis and convert brain cortical function from being purely neuronal to becoming neuronal-astrocytic. This conversion is associated with huge increases in energy demand and production, and the character of potentially incurred gains of function are discussed. These may include alterations in learning mechanisms, in mice indicated by lack of pairing of odor learning with aversive stimuli in newborn animals but the development of such an association 10-12 days later. The possibility is suggested that analogous maturational changes may contribute to differences in the way learning is accomplished in the newborn human brain and during later development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leif Hertz
- Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of ChinaShenyang, China
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10
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Mack AF, Tiedemann K. Cultures of astroglial cells derived from brain of adult cichlid fish. J Neurosci Methods 2013; 212:269-75. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2012.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2012] [Revised: 10/22/2012] [Accepted: 11/08/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Verkhratsky A, Rodríguez JJ, Parpura V. Calcium signalling in astroglia. Mol Cell Endocrinol 2012; 353:45-56. [PMID: 21945602 DOI: 10.1016/j.mce.2011.08.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 171] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2011] [Revised: 08/28/2011] [Accepted: 08/31/2011] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Astroglia possess excitability based on movements of Ca(2+) ions between intracellular compartments and plasmalemmal Ca(2+) fluxes. This "Ca(2+) excitability" is controlled by several families of proteins located in the plasma membrane, within the cytosol and in the intracellular organelles, most notably in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria. Accumulation of cytosolic Ca(2+) can be caused by the entry of Ca(2+) from the extracellular space through ionotropic receptors and store-operated channels expressed in astrocytes. Plasmalemmal Ca(2+) ATP-ase and sodium-calcium exchanger extrude cytosolic Ca(2+) to the extracellular space; the exchanger can also operate in reverse, depending of the intercellular Na(+) concentration, to deliver Ca(2+) to the cytosol. The ER internal store possesses inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors which can be activated upon stimulation of astrocytes through a multiple plasma membrane metabotropic G-protein coupled receptors. This leads to release of Ca(2+) from the ER and its elevation in the cytosol, the level of which can be modulated by mitochondria. The mitochondrial uniporter takes up Ca(2+) into the matrix, while free Ca(2+) exits the matrix through the mitochondrial Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger as well as via transient openings of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore. One of the prominent consequences of astroglial Ca(2+) excitability is gliotransmission, a release of transmitters from astroglia which can lead to signalling to adjacent neurones.
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12
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Nedergaard M, Verkhratsky A. Artifact versus reality--how astrocytes contribute to synaptic events. Glia 2012; 60:1013-23. [PMID: 22228580 DOI: 10.1002/glia.22288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 222] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2011] [Accepted: 12/05/2011] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
The neuronal doctrine, developed a century ago regards neuronal networks as the sole substrate of higher brain function. Recent advances in glial physiology have promoted an alternative hypothesis, which places information processing in the brain into integrated neuronal-glial networks utilizing both binary (neuronal action potentials) and analogue (diffusional propagation of second messengers/metabolites through gap junctions or transmitters through the interstitial space) signal encoding. It has been proposed that the feed-forward and feed-back communication between these two types of neural cells, which underlies information transfer and processing, is accomplished by the release of neurotransmitters from neuronal terminals as well as from astroglial processes. Understanding of this subject, however, remains incomplete and important questions and controversies require resolution. Here we propose that the primary function of perisynaptic glial processes is to create an "astroglial cradle" that shields the synapse from a multitude of extrasynaptic signaling events and provides for multifaceted support and long-term plasticity of synaptic contacts through variety of mechanisms, which may not necessarily involve the release of "glio" transmitters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maiken Nedergaard
- Division of Glia Disease and Therapeutics, Department of Neurosurgery, Center for Translational Neuromedicine, University of Rochester Medical School, Rochester, NY 14580, USA.
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13
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Graven SN. Early visual development: implications for the neonatal intensive care unit and care. Clin Perinatol 2011; 38:671-83. [PMID: 22107897 DOI: 10.1016/j.clp.2011.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Much of the early development of the human visual system occurs while the preterm infant is in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Critical events and processes happen between 20 and 40 weeks' gestational age, before the onset of vision at term birth. Knowledge of the development of the visual system and the timing of the processes involved is essential to adapting NICU care to support all neurosensory development including visual development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stanley N Graven
- Department of Community and Family Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, 13201 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33612-3805, USA.
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14
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Verkhratsky A. Physiology of neuronal–glial networking. Neurochem Int 2010; 57:332-43. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuint.2010.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2009] [Revised: 01/05/2010] [Accepted: 02/01/2010] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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15
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Lu Y, Iandiev I, Hollborn M, Körber N, Ulbricht E, Hirrlinger PG, Pannicke T, Wei E, Bringmann A, Wolburg H, Wilhelmsson U, Pekny M, Wiedemann P, Reichenbach A, Käs JA. Reactive glial cells: increased stiffness correlates with increased intermediate filament expression. FASEB J 2010; 25:624-31. [DOI: 10.1096/fj.10-163790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 128] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yun‐Bi Lu
- Division of Soft Matter PhysicsDepartment of PhysicsUniversität LeipzigLeipzigGermany
- Paul Flechsig Institute of Brain ResearchUniversität LeipzigLeipzigGermany
- Department of PharmacologySchool of MedicineZhejiang UniversityHang ZhouChina
| | - Ianors Iandiev
- Department of OphthalmologyUniversität LeipzigLeipzigGermany
| | | | - Nicole Körber
- Paul Flechsig Institute of Brain ResearchUniversität LeipzigLeipzigGermany
- Translational Centre for Regenerative MedicineLeipzigGermany
| | - Elke Ulbricht
- Paul Flechsig Institute of Brain ResearchUniversität LeipzigLeipzigGermany
| | | | - Thomas Pannicke
- Paul Flechsig Institute of Brain ResearchUniversität LeipzigLeipzigGermany
| | - Er‐Qing Wei
- Department of PharmacologySchool of MedicineZhejiang UniversityHang ZhouChina
| | | | | | - Ulrika Wilhelmsson
- Center for Brain Repair and RehabilitationDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience and RehabilitationInstitute of Neuroscience and PhysiologySahlgrenska AcademyUniversity of GothenburgGothenburgSweden
| | - Milos Pekny
- Center for Brain Repair and RehabilitationDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience and RehabilitationInstitute of Neuroscience and PhysiologySahlgrenska AcademyUniversity of GothenburgGothenburgSweden
| | - Peter Wiedemann
- Department of OphthalmologyUniversität LeipzigLeipzigGermany
| | | | - Josef A. Käs
- Division of Soft Matter PhysicsDepartment of PhysicsUniversität LeipzigLeipzigGermany
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16
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Verkhratsky A, Olabarria M, Noristani HN, Yeh CY, Rodriguez JJ. Astrocytes in Alzheimer's disease. Neurotherapeutics 2010; 7:399-412. [PMID: 20880504 PMCID: PMC5084302 DOI: 10.1016/j.nurt.2010.05.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 317] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2010] [Revised: 04/25/2010] [Accepted: 05/10/2010] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The circuitry of the human brain is formed by neuronal networks embedded into astroglial syncytia. The astrocytes perform numerous functions, providing for the overall brain homeostasis, assisting in neurogenesis, determining the micro-architecture of the grey matter, and defending the brain through evolutionary conserved astrogliosis programs. Astroglial cells are engaged in neurological diseases by determining the progression and outcome of neuropathological process. Astrocytes are specifically involved in various neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and various forms of dementia. Recent evidence suggest that early stages of neurodegenerative processes are associated with atrophy of astroglia, which causes disruptions in synaptic connectivity, disbalance in neurotransmitter homeostasis, and neuronal death through increased excitotoxicity. At the later stages, astrocytes become activated and contribute to the neuroinflammatory component of neurodegeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexei Verkhratsky
- grid.5379.80000000121662407Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, M13 9PT Manchester, UK
- grid.11480.3c0000000121671098Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, Department of Neuroscience, The University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Technological Park, Bldg. 205, Floor-1, Laida Bidea, 48170 Zamudio, Vizcaya Spain
| | - Markel Olabarria
- grid.5379.80000000121662407Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, M13 9PT Manchester, UK
| | - Harun N. Noristani
- grid.5379.80000000121662407Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, M13 9PT Manchester, UK
| | - Chia-Yu Yeh
- grid.5379.80000000121662407Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, M13 9PT Manchester, UK
| | - Jose Julio Rodriguez
- grid.418095.10000000110153316Institute of Experimental Medicine, ASCR, 142 20 Prague, Czech Republic
- grid.424810.b0000000404672314Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, 48011 Bilbao, Spain
- grid.11480.3c0000000121671098Department of Neurosciences, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, 48940 Leioa, Spain
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17
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Verkhratsky A, Parpura V, Rodríguez JJ. Where the thoughts dwell: the physiology of neuronal-glial "diffuse neural net". ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010; 66:133-51. [PMID: 20546785 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresrev.2010.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2010] [Revised: 05/11/2010] [Accepted: 05/17/2010] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The mechanisms underlying the production of thoughts by exceedingly complex cellular networks that construct the human brain constitute the most challenging problem of natural sciences. Our understanding of the brain function is very much shaped by the neuronal doctrine that assumes that neuronal networks represent the only substrate for cognition. These neuronal networks however are embedded into much larger and probably more complex network formed by neuroglia. The latter, although being electrically silent, employ many different mechanisms for intercellular signalling. It appears that astrocytes can control synaptic networks and in such a capacity they may represent an integral component of the computational power of the brain rather than being just brain "connective tissue". The fundamental question of whether neuroglia is involved in cognition and information processing remains, however, open. Indeed, a remarkable increase in the number of glial cells that distinguishes the human brain can be simply a result of exceedingly high specialisation of the neuronal networks, which delegated all matters of survival and maintenance to the neuroglia. At the same time potential power of analogue processing offered by internally connected glial networks may represent the alternative mechanism involved in cognition.
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Filming the glial dreams: real-time imaging of cannabinoid receptor trafficking in astrocytes. ASN Neuro 2009; 1:AN20090049. [PMID: 19909235 PMCID: PMC2826102 DOI: 10.1042/an20090049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
How does the brain process incoming information and produce thoughts? These questions represent, to all likelihood, the most challenging matters ever faced by natural sciences, matters which may never be fully comprehended. The evolution of the nervous system that, in about billion of years, brought into existence the human brain progressed through an ever-increasing complexity of neural networks. This evolution began from the diffuse nervous system, in which primordial neurons were able to sense the environmental inputs and convey them to effector organs and to the neighbouring neurons. At the next evolutionary stage the conglomerates of neuronal cell bodies, the ganglia, appeared, thus forming the primitive centralized nervous system. The developments which ensued went through a continuous increase in complexity of neuronal conglomerates, which eventually formed the central nervous system, which attained maximal perfection in mammals. In this issue of ASN NEURO, Osborne et al. have described details of real-time imaging of cannabinoid receptor trafficking in astrocytes, a technique that will help to elucidate the role of these receptors in the ever-increasing complex neural networks.
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Origins of neurogenesis, a cnidarian view. Dev Biol 2009; 332:2-24. [PMID: 19465018 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2009.05.563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2009] [Revised: 05/14/2009] [Accepted: 05/16/2009] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
New perspectives on the origin of neurogenesis emerged with the identification of genes encoding post-synaptic proteins as well as many "neurogenic" regulators as the NK, Six, Pax, bHLH proteins in the Demosponge genome, a species that might differentiate sensory cells but no neurons. However, poriferans seem to miss some key regulators of the neurogenic circuitry as the Hox/paraHox and Otx-like gene families. Moreover as a general feature, many gene families encoding evolutionarily-conserved signaling proteins and transcription factors were submitted to a wave of gene duplication in the last common eumetazoan ancestor, after Porifera divergence. In contrast gene duplications in the last common bilaterian ancestor, Urbilateria, are limited, except for the bHLH Atonal-class. Hence Cnidaria share with Bilateria a large number of genetic tools. The expression and functional analyses currently available suggest a neurogenic function for numerous orthologs in developing or adult cnidarians where neurogenesis takes place continuously. As an example, in the Hydra polyp, the Clytia medusa and the Acropora coral, the Gsx/cnox2/Anthox-2 ParaHox gene likely supports neurogenesis. Also neurons and nematocytes (mechanosensory cells) share in hydrozoans a common stem cell and several regulatory genes indicating that they can be considered as sister cells. Performed in anthozoan and medusozoan species, these studies should tell us more about the way(s) evolution hazards achieved the transition from epithelial to neuronal cell fate, and about the robustness of the genetic circuitry that allowed neuromuscular transmission to arise and be maintained across evolution.
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Cyclops. Can J Ophthalmol 2009. [DOI: 10.3129/i08-173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
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