Many lines of evidence suggest that the Parkinson's disease (PD)-related protein α-synuclein (α-SYN) can propagate from cell to cell in a prion-like manner. However, the cellular mechanisms behind the spreading remain elusive. Here, we show that human astrocytes derived from embryonic stem cells actively transfer aggregated α-SYN to nearby astrocytes via direct contact and tunneling nanotubes (...

Immunocytochemical localization of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) has been used to study the distribution of astrocytes and their morphology in sections of the optic nerve (ON) of human eye. Although all ON regions presented GFAP immunoreactivity, immunostained tissue was most common in the posterior prelaminar region (PR) and least common in the laminar region (LR). Two shapes of astro...

Astrocytes might function as brain interoceptors capable of detecting different (chemo)sensory modalities and transmitting sensory information to the relevant neural networks controlling vital functions. For example, astrocytes that reside near the ventral surface of the brainstem (central respiratory chemosensitive area) respond to physiological decreases in pH with vigorous elevations in intr...

Glutaric acidemia type I (GA-I) is an inherited neurometabolic childhood disorder caused by defective activity of glutaryl CoA dehydrogenase (GCDH) which disturb lysine (Lys) and tryptophan catabolism leading to neurotoxic accumulation of glutaric acid (GA) and related metabolites. However, it remains unknown whether GA toxicity is due to direct effects on vulnerable neurons or mediated by GA-i...

In the adult central nervous system, neural stem cells (NSCs) reside in two discrete niches: subependymal zone (SEZ) of lateral ventricle and subgranular (SGZ) dentate gyrus (DG). Here, NSCs represent a population highly specialized astrocytes that are able to proliferate give rise neuronal glial progeny. This process, termed neurogenesis, is extrinsically regulated by other niche such as non-s...

Our previous study revealed that minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) is strongly associated with neuroinflammation. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanism of induction inflammatory response in MHE astrocytes remains unclear. In this study, we further investigated effect and S100B, predominant isoform expressed released from mature astrocytes, on MHE-like neuropathology rat model. We discovered...

Objective(s): The stimulation of neural stem cells (NSCs) differentiation into neurons has attracted great attention in management of neurodegenerative disease and traumatic brain injury. It has been reported that selegiline could enhance the morphologic differentiation of embryonic stem cells. Therefore this study aimed to investigate the effects of selegiline on NSCs differentiation with focu...

Introduction: In adult mammalian brain, neural stem cells are isolated from both the dentate gyrus and subventricular zone. This study aimed to isolate neural stem cells from adult rat subventricular zone and differentiate them into neurons and astrocytes.  Methods: In this study, the whole brain was removed after full anesthesia and creating cervical dislocation. Under a microscope, subv...

Introduction MDMA or ecstasy is a derivative of amphetamines used mostly by young people worldwide. Although the acute effects of this drug are known, the effect of chronic administration is not well studied. Therefor the aim of this study was to determine the effects of repeated (long term) administration of MDMA on rats' memory and their hippocampal cell density. Method: Young adult male W...

Astrocytes are one of the first responders to central nervous system (CNS) injuries such as spinal cord injury (SCI). They thought repress injury-induced CNS inflammation well inhibit axonal regeneration. While reactive astrocytes migrate and accumulate around lesion core, mechanism astrocyte migration towards site remains unclear. Here, we examined possible involvement acidification expression...