Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an autoimmune disease that primarily targets astrocytes. Autoantibodies (NMO-IgG) against the water channel protein, aquaporin 4 (AQP4), are a serologic marker in NMO patients, and they known to be responsible for pathophysiology of disease. In brain, AQP4 mainly expressed astrocytes, especially at end-feet, where form blood-brain barrier. Following interaction bet...

We report on the uptake of MeHg in astrocytes and neurons, as well as specific indicators of neurotoxicity. Cerebellar granule neurons and astrocytes separately and in co-culture were cultured in the presence of MeHg and changes in 3-[4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2, 5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT)-reduction, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage, and cellular content of glutathione and amino ac...

L-DOPA is therapeutically efficacious in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), although dopamine (DA) neurons are severely degenerated. Since cortical astrocytes express neutral amino acid transporter (LAT) and DA transporter (DAT), the uptake and metabolism of L-DOPA and DA in striatal astrocytes may influence their availability in the dopaminergic system of PD. To assess possible L-DOPA- an...

Astrocytes promote the formation and function of excitatory synapses in the CNS. However, whether and how astrocytes modulate inhibitory synaptogenesis are essentially unknown. We asked whether astrocytes regulate the formation of inhibitory synapses between hippocampal neurons during maturation in vitro. Neuronal coculture with astrocytes or treatment with astrocyte-conditioned medium (ACM) in...

Astrocytes are central to iron and ascorbate homoeostasis within the brain. Although NTBI (non-transferrin-bound iron) may be a major form of iron imported by astrocytes in vivo, the mechanisms responsible remain unclear. The present study examines NTBI uptake by cultured astrocytes and the involvement of ascorbate and DMT1 (divalent metal transporter 1). We demonstrate that iron accumulation b...

Astrocytes represent the major glial cell population within the central nervous system. In order to elucidate the function of astrocytes under physiological conditions and during the course of neurological disease, astrocytic gene expression profiling is necessary. However, since astrocytes form an intimately connected network with neurons and other cell types in the brain, gene expression anal...

Astrocytes play critical roles in central nervous system homeostasis and support of neuronal function. A better knowledge of their response may both help understand the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and implement new therapeutic strategies. We used the 5xFAD transgenic mouse model of AD (Tg thereafter) to generate astrocyte cultures and investigate the impact of the genotype on me...

The nucleus of the solitary tract (NST), located in the dorsomedial medulla, is the site of visceral sensory modulation of a variety of homeostatic reflexes. Given recent advancements in the understanding of active regulation of synaptic information flow by astrocytes, we sought to determine whether afferent sensory inputs to NST neurons also activates NST astrocytes. Using confocal, live-cell ...

Interactions between astrocytes and neurons rely on the release and uptake of glial and neuronal molecules. But whether astrocytic vesicles exist and exocytose in a regulated or constitutive fashion is under debate. The majority of studies have relied on indirect methods or on astrocyte cultures that do not resemble stellate astrocytes found in vivo. Here, to investigate vesicle-associated prot...

Protoplasmic astrocytes have been reported to exhibit neuroprotective effects on neurons, but there has been no direct evidence for a functional relationship between protoplasmic astrocytes and neural stem cells (NSCs). In this study, we examined neuronal differentiation of NSCs induced by protoplasmic astrocytes in a co-culture model. Protoplasmic astrocytes were isolated from new-born and NSC...