Function and therapeutic value of astrocytes in neurological diseases

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. As...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature reviews. Drug discovery Vol. 21; no. 5; pp. 339 - 358
Main Authors: Lee, Hong-Gyun, Wheeler, Michael A, Quintana, Francisco J
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England Nature Publishing Group 01.05.2022
Subjects:
Astrocytes - metabolism
Cell Communication
Cytokines
DNA methylation
Epigenetics
Glutamic Acid - metabolism
Homeostasis
Humans
Huntingtons disease
Inflammation
Metabolism
Morphology
Multiple Sclerosis
Nervous system
Nervous System Diseases - metabolism
Nervous System Diseases - therapy
Neurodegeneration
Neurons
Parkinson's disease
Pathogenesis
Permeability
ISSN:1474-1776, 1474-1784, 1474-1784
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary: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 regulate glutamate and ion homeostasis, cholesterol and sphingolipid metabolism and respond to environmental factors, all of which have been implicated in neurological diseases. Astrocytes also exhibit significant heterogeneity, driven by developmental programmes and stimulus-specific cellular responses controlled by CNS location, cell-cell interactions and other mechanisms. In this Review, we highlight general mechanisms of astrocyte regulation and their potential as therapeutic targets, including drugs that alter astrocyte metabolism, and therapies that target transporters and receptors on astrocytes. Emerging ideas, such as engineered probiotics and glia-to-neuron conversion therapies, are also discussed. We further propose a concise nomenclature for astrocyte subsets that we use to highlight the roles of astrocytes and specific subsets in neurological diseases.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 14
ObjectType-Review-3
content type line 23
ISSN:1474-1776
1474-1784
1474-1784
DOI:10.1038/s41573-022-00390-x