Glia
Astrocytes are fundamental for brain homeostasis and are at the fulcrum of neurological diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we monitored changes in astroglia morphology throughout the age‐dependent progression of AD. We used an immunohistochemical approach that allows us to determine the domain of glial cytoskeleton, by measuring the surface, volume, and the relationship between astrocytes...
It is now widely accepted that resident central nervous system (CNS) cells such as microglia and astrocytes initiate and/or augment inflammation following trauma or infection. However, the mechanisms by which glial cells perceive microbial challenges are only now becoming apparent. We have recently demonstrated that microglia and astrocytes constitutively express nucleotide‐binding oligomerization...
Glaucoma, a neurodegenerative disease affecting retinal ganglion cells (RGC), is a leading cause of blindness. Since gliosis is common in neurodegenerative disorders, it is important to describe the changes occurring in various glial populations in glaucoma animal models in relation to axon loss, as only changes that occur early are likely to be useful therapeutic targets. Here, we describe changes...
Microglia are the primary immune surveillance cells in the brain, and when activated they play critical roles in inflammatory reactions and tissue repair in the damaged brain. Microglia rapidly extend their processes toward the damaged areas in response to stimulation of the metabotropic ATP receptor P2Y12 by ATP released from damaged tissue. This chemotactic response is a highly important step that...
Knowledge of the precise timing of myelination is critical to the success of zebrafish‐based in vivo screening strategies for potential remyelination therapies. This study provides a systematic review of the timing of myelination in the zebrafish spinal cord and a critique of techniques by which it may be accurately assessed. The onset of myelination was found to be 3 days postfertilization (d.p.f...
Central nervous system (CNS) microglia (MG) and peripheral tissue macrophages (MO) remove pathogens by phagocytosis. Zymosan, a model yeast pathogen, is a β‐glucan rich particle that readily activates the complement system and then becomes C3bi‐opsonized (op). Complement receptor‐3 (CR3) has initially been implicated in mediating the phagocytosis of both C3bi‐op and non‐opsonized (nop) zymosan by...
Neural stem cells (NSCs) isolated from the subventricular zone (SVZ) of postnatal mice, and cultured as neurospheres, expressed functional mGlu3 receptors. Following mitogen withdrawal and plating onto poly‐ornitine‐coated dishes, cells dissociated from the neurospheres differentiated into GFAP+ astrocytes (about 85%), and a small percentage of β‐III tubulin+‐neurons and O1+‐oligodendrocytes. Activation...
Schwann cells transplantation has considerable promise in spinal cord trauma to bridge the site of injury and for remyelination in demyelinating conditions. They support axonal regeneration and sprouting by secreting growth factors and providing a permissive surface and matrix molecules while shielding axons from the inhibitory environment of the central nervous system. However, following transplantation...
The zebrafish has become a new model for adult neurogenesis, owing to its abundant neurogenic areas in most brain subdivisions. Radial glia‐like cells, actively proliferating cells, and label‐retaining progenitors have been described in these areas. In the telencephalon, this complexity is enhanced by an organization of the ventricular zone (VZ) in fast and slow‐dividing domains, suggesting the existence...
Previous work indicated that brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), through the trkB receptor, increases DNA synthesis in oligodendrocyte (OLG) progenitor cells (OPCs) and differentiation of postmitotic OLGs of the basal forebrain (BF). In the present studies, BDNF knockout animals were used to investigate BDNF's effects on OLG lineage cells (OLCs) in vivo. OLCs of the BF were found to express...
Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) and the related cytokine leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) have been implicated in regulating astrogliosis following CNS lesions. Application of the factors activates astrocytes in vivo and in vitro, and their expression as well as their receptors is upregulated after brain injury. Here, we investigated their function by studying Müller cell activation induced by...
Following brain injury, thrombospondin‐1 (TSP‐1) is involved in angiogenesis and synaptic recovery. In this study, we used a cold injury‐model and found that TSP‐1 mRNA was markedly upregulated after brain injury. Immunohistochemistry showed that TSP‐1 was upregulated in both the core of the lesion and in the perilesional area of injured brain tissue. Numerous astrocytes immunopositive for glial fibrillary...
Adult neural stem cells (NSCs) are located in the subventricular zone (SVZ), a specialized brain niche located on the walls of the lateral ventricle. Under physiological conditions, NSCs generate a large number of young neurons and some oligodendrocytes, however the mechanisms controlling cell proliferation and migration are unclear. In vitro, epidermal growth factor (EGF) signaling has been shown...
Glucocorticoids improve the symptoms of peripheral nerve disorders, such as carpal tunnel syndrome and peripheral neuropathy. The effects of glucocorticoids are mainly anti‐inflammatory, but the mechanisms of their effects in peripheral nerve disorders remain unclear. Schwann cells of the peripheral nerves express glucocorticoid receptors (GR), and glucocorticoids enhance the rate of myelin formation...
The lack of markers for astrocytes, particularly gray matter astrocytes, significantly hinders research into their development and physiological properties. We previously reported that fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (Fgfr3) is expressed by radial precursors in the ventricular zone of the embryonic neural tube and subsequently by differentiated astrocytes in gray and white matter. Here, we describe...
Reactive astrocytes are traditionally thought to impede brain plasticity after stroke. However, we previously showed that reactive astrocytes may also contribute to stroke recovery, partly via the release of a nuclear protein called high‐mobility group box 1 (HMGB1). Here, we investigate the mechanisms that allow stimulated astrocytes to release HMGB1. Exposure of rat primary astrocytes to IL‐1β for...
Steroid receptor coactivator‐3 (SRC‐3) has been demonstrated to regulate lipid metabolism by inhibiting adipocyte differentiation. In this study, the potential role of SRC‐3 in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), which characterized by inflammatory demyelination in central nervous system (CNS), was examined by analyzing disease progression in SRC‐3‐deficient (SRC‐3−/−) mice. We found...
Friederike Knerlich‐Lukoschus,
Beata von der Ropp‐Brenner,
Ralph Lucius,
Hubertus Maximilian Mehdorn,
more
Inflammatory cascades induced by spinal cord injuries (SCI) are localized in the white matter, a recognized neural stem‐ and progenitor‐cell (NSPC) niche of the adult spinal cord. Chemokines, as integrators of these processes, might also be important determinants of this NSPC niche. CCL3/CCR1, CCL2/CCR2, and SDF‐1α/CXCR4 were analyzed in the ventrolateral white matter after force defined thoracic...
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a cause of major neurological disability, and no satisfactory treatment is currently available. Traumatic SCI directly damages the cell bodies and/or processes of neurons and triggers a series of endogenous processes, including neuroinflammatory response and reactive astrogliosis. In this study, we found that triptolide, one of the major active components of the traditional...
Protein kinase D (PKD) is a family of serine/threonine kinases that can be activated by many stimuli via protein kinase C in a variety of cells. This is the first report where PKD activation and localization is studied in glial cells. Herein, we demonstrate that P2Y2 and P2X7 receptor stimulation of primary rat cerebellar astrocytes rapidly increases PKD1/2 phosphorylation and activity. P2Y2 receptor...