Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Planas-Fontánez, Talia M.
• Sainato, Danielle M.
• Sharma, Isha
• Dreyfus, Cheryl F.

Titel

Roles of astrocytes in response to aging, Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis

Ist Teil von

• Brain research, 2021-08, Vol.1764, p.147464-147464, Article 147464

Ort / Verlag

Netherlands: Elsevier B.V

Erscheinungsjahr

2021

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• •Astrocyte functions are altered during aging and in response to Alzheimer’s Disease and Multiple Sclerosis.•Astrocytes have beneficial and detrimental effects on neurons and oligodendrocytes during disease.•Understanding these effects can lead to the use of astrocytes as therapeutic targets. Astrocytes are traditionally recognized for their multiple roles in support of brain function. However, additional changes in these roles are evident in response to brain diseases. In this review, we highlight positive and negative effects of astrocytes in response to aging, Alzheimer’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis. We summarize data suggesting that reactive astrocytes may perform critical functions that might be relevant to the etiology of these conditions. In particular, we relate astrocytes effects to actions on synaptic transmission, cognition, and myelination. We suggest that a better understanding of astrocyte functions and how these become altered in response to aging or disease will lead to the appreciation of these cells as useful therapeutic targets.