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Key roles of macroglia are inextricably coupled to specialized membrane domains. The perivascular endfoot membrane has drawn particular attention, as this domain contains a unique complement of aquaporin-4 (AQP4) and other channel proteins that distinguishes it from perisynaptic membranes. Recent studies indicate that the polarization of macroglia is lost in a number of diseases, including temporal lobe epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease. A better understanding is required of the molecular underpinning of astroglial polarization, particularly when it comes to the significance of the dystrophin associated protein complex (DAPC). Here, we employ immunofluorescence and immunogold cytochemistry to analyze the molecular scaffolding in perivascular endfeet in macroglia of retina and three regions of brain (cortex, dentate gyrus, and cerebellum), using AQP4 as a marker. Compared with brain astrocytes, Müller cells (a class of retinal macroglia) exhibit lower densities of the scaffold proteins dystrophin and α-syntrophin (a DAPC protein), but higher levels of AQP4. In agreement, depletion of dystrophin or α-syntrophin--while causing a dramatic loss of AQP4 from endfoot membranes of brain astrocytes--had only modest or insignificant effect, respectively, on the AQP4 pool in endfoot membranes of Müller cells. In addition, while polarization of brain macroglia was less affected by dystrophin depletion than by targeted deletion of α-syntrophin, the reverse was true for retinal macroglia. These data indicate that the molecular scaffolding in perivascular endfeet is more complex than previously assumed and that macroglia are heterogeneous with respect to the mechanisms that dictate their polarization., (Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Information transfer within neuronal circuits depends on the balance and recurrent activity of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission. Chloride (Cl−) is the major central nervous system (CNS) anion mediating inhibitory neurotransmission. Astrocytes are key homoeostatic glial cells populating the CNS, although the role of these cells in regulating excitatory-inhibitory balance remains unexplored. Here we show that astrocytes act as a dynamic Cl− reservoir regulating Cl− homoeostasis in the CNS. We found that intracellular chloride concentration ([Cl−]i) in astrocytes is high and stable during sleep. In awake mice astrocytic [Cl−]i is lower and exhibits large fluctuation in response to both sensory input and motor activity. Optogenetic manipulation of astrocytic [Cl−]i directly modulates neuronal activity during locomotion or whisker stimulation. Astrocytes thus serve as a dynamic source of extracellular Cl− available for GABAergic transmission in awake mice, which represents a mechanism for modulation of the inhibitory tone during sustained neuronal activity. Astrocytes act as a dynamic Cl− reservoir regulating Cl− homeostasis in the CNS. Astrocytic Cl− is high and stable during sleep, it is lower during wakefulness and fluctuates in response to sensory input and motor activity. Efflux of Cl− from astrocytes supports inhibitory transmission in the CNS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diseases of myelin are among the most prevalent and disabling conditions in neurology. These diseases include both the vascular and inflammatory demyelinating disorders of adulthood, as welt as the childhood leukodystrophies and cerebral palsy. These fundamentally glial disorders may be amenable to treatment by glial progenitor cells (GPCs), which give rise to astroglia and myelin-producing oligodendrocytes. Given the development of new methods for generating and isolating human GPCs, the myelin disorders may now be compelling targets for cell-based therapy. In addition, the efficient engraftment and expansion of human GPCs in routine hosts has led to the development of human glial chimeric mouse brains, which provides new opportunities for studying the species-specific rotes of human glia in cognition, as well as in disease pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The evolution of the central nervous system (CNS) resulted in an appearance of highly specialised neuronal networks optimised for rapid information transfer. In the course of this specialisation neuronal cells lost their metabolic independence and the ability to survive in the absence of homeostatic systems. These homeostatic systems, represented by neuroglia regulate all aspects of CNS function in physiological and pathological conditions. The neurological diseases should be therefore considered as primary gliopathologies, which determine the progression and outcome of neuropathological process. Glial function is intimately regulated by cellular calcium signalling that underlies the specific form of “glial calcium excitability”. Glial Ca2+ signals are triggered by activation of multiple receptors, and are primarily driven by Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum. In this review we summarise the role of glial calcium signalling in various forms of pathological processes including neurological and psychiatric disorders and neurodegeneration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Gliosis is a pathological hallmark of posttraumatic epileptic foci, but little is known about these reactive astrocytes beyond their high glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression. Using diolistic labeling, we show that cortical astrocytes lost their nonoverlapping domain organization in three mouse models of epilepsy: posttraumatic injury, genetic susceptibility, and systemic kainate exposure. Neighboring astrocytes in epileptic mice showed a 10-fold increase in overlap of processes. Concurrently, spine density was increased on dendrites of excitatory neurons. Suppression of seizures by the common antiepileptic, valproate, reduced the overlap of astrocytic processes. Astrocytic domain organization was also preserved in APP transgenic mice expressing a mutant variant of human amyloid precursor protein despite a marked upregulation of GFAP. Our data suggest that loss of astrocytic domains was not universally associated with gliosis, but restricted to seizure pathologies. Reorganization of astrocytes may, in concert with dendritic sprouting and new synapse formation, form the structural basis for recurrent excitation in the epileptic brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The brain is a heterogeneous organ with regionally varied and constantly changing energetic needs. Blood vessels in the brain are equipped with control mechanisms that match oxygen and glucose delivery through blood flow with the local metabolic demands that are imposed by neural activity. However, the cellular bases of this mechanism have remained elusive. A major advance has been the demonstration that astrocytes, cells with extensive contacts with both synapses and cerebral blood vessels, participate in the increases in flow evoked by synaptic activity. Their organization in nonoverlapping spatial domains indicates that they are uniquely positioned to shape the spatial distribution of the vascular responses that are evoked by neural activity. Astrocytic calcium is an important determinant of microvascular function and may regulate flow independently of synaptic activity. The involvement of astrocytes in neurovascular coupling has broad implications for the interpretation of functional imaging signals and for the understanding of brain diseases that are associated with neurovascular dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical imaging of individual vesicle exocytosis is providing new insights into the mechanism and regulation of secretion by cells. To study calcium-triggered secretion from astrocytes, we used acridine orange (AO) to label vesicles. Although AO is often used for imaging exocytosis. we found that imaging vesicles labeled with AO can result in their photolysis. Here, we define experimental and analytical approaches that permit us to distinguish unambiguously between fusion, leakage, and lysis of individual vesicles. We have used this approach to demonstrate that lysosomes undergo calcium-triggered exocytosis in astrocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local increase in blood flow during neural activity forms the basis for functional brain imaging, but its mechanism remains poorly defined. Here we show that cortical astrocytes in vivo possess a powerful mechanism for rapid vasodilation. We imaged the activity of astrocytes labeled with the calcium (Ca2+)-sensitive indicator rhod-2 in somatosensory cortex of adult mice. Photolysis of caged Ca2+ in astrocytic endfeet ensheathing the vessel wall was associated with an 18% increase in arterial cross-section area that corresponded to a 37% increase in blood flow. Vasodilation occurred with a latency of only 1–2 s, and both indomethacin and the cyclooxygenase-1 inhibitor SC-560 blocked the photolysis-induced hyperemia. These observations implicate astrocytes in the control of local microcirculation and suggest that one of their physiological roles is to mediate vasodilation in response to increased neural activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several lines of work have shown that astrocytes release glutamate in response to receptor activation, which results in a modulation of local synaptic activity. Astrocytic glutamate release is Ca2+-dependent and occurs in conjunction with exocytosis of glutamate containing vesicles. However, astrocytes contain a millimolar concentration of cytosolic glutamate and express channels permeable to small anions, such as glutamate. Here, we tested the idea that astrocytes respond to receptor stimulation by dynamic changes in cell volume, resulting in volume-sensitive channel activation, and efflux of cytosolic glutamate. Confocal imaging and whole-cell recordings demonstrated that astrocytes exhibited a transient Ca2+-dependent cell volume increase, which activated glutamate permeable channels. HPLC analysis revealed that glutamate was released in conjunction with other amino acid osmolytes. Our observations indicate that volume-sensitive channel may constitute a previously uncharacterized target for modulation of astrocyte-neuronal interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exogenous kainate receptor agonists have been shown to modulate inhibitory synaptic transmission in the hippocampus, but the pathways involved in physiological activation of the receptors remain largely unknown. Accumulating evidence indicates that astrocytes can release glutamate in a Ca2+dependent manner and signal to neighboring neurons. They tested the hypothesis that astrocyte-derived glutamate activates kainate receptors on hippocampal interneurons. They reported that elevation of intracellular Ca2+ in astrocytes, induced by uncaging Ca2+ o-nitrophenyl-EGTA, increased action potential-driven spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents in nearby interneurons in rat hippocampal slices.

The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is a diffusion barrier, which impedes influx of most compounds from blood to brain. Three cellular elements of the brain microvasculature compose the BBB—endothelial cells, astrocyte end-feet, and pericytes (PCs). Tight junctions (TJs), present between the cerebral endothelial cells, form a diffusion barrier, which selectively excludes most blood-borne substances from entering the brain. Astrocytic end-feet tightly ensheath the vessel wall and appear to be critical for the induction and maintenance of the TJ barrier, but astrocytes are not believed to have a barrier function in the mammalian brain. Dysfunction of the BBB, for example, impairment of the TJ seal, complicates a number of neurologic diseases including stroke and neuroinflammatory disorders. We review here the recent developments in our understanding of the BBB and the role of the BBB dysfunction in CNS disease. We have focused on intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) in premature infants, which may involve dysfunction of the TJ seal as well as immaturity of the BBB in the germinal matrix (GM). A paucity of TJs or PCs, coupled with incomplete coverage of blood vessels by astrocyte end-feet, may account for the fragility of blood vessels in the GM of premature infants. Finally, this review describes the pathogenesis of increased BBB permeability in hypoxia–ischemia and inflammatory mechanisms involving the BBB in septic encephalopathy, HIV-induced dementia, multiple sclerosis, and Alzheimer disease. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Activation of glial cells and neuro–glial interactions are emerging as key mechanisms underlying chronic pain. Accumulating evidence has implicated 3 types of glial cells in the development and maintenance of chronic pain: microglia and astrocytes of the central nervous system (CNS), and satellite glial cells of the dorsal root and trigeminal ganglia. Painful syndromes are associated with different glial activation states: (1) glial reaction (ie, upregulation of glial markers such as IBA1 and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and/or morphological changes, including hypertrophy, proliferation, and modifications of glial networks); (2) phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways; (3) upregulation of adenosine triphosphate and chemokine receptors and hemichannels and downregulation of glutamate transporters; and (4) synthesis and release of glial mediators (eg, cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and proteases) to the extracellular space. Although widely detected in chronic pain resulting from nerve trauma, inflammation, cancer, and chemotherapy in rodents, and more recently, human immunodeficiency virus-associated neuropathy in human beings, glial reaction (activation state 1) is not thought to mediate pain sensitivity directly. Instead, activation states 2 to 4 have been demonstrated to enhance pain sensitivity via a number of synergistic neuro–glial interactions. Glial mediators have been shown to powerfully modulate excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission at presynaptic, postsynaptic, and extrasynaptic sites. Glial activation also occurs in acute pain conditions, and acute opioid treatment activates peripheral glia to mask opioid analgesia. Thus, chronic pain could be a result of “gliopathy,” that is, dysregulation of glial functions in the central and peripheral nervous system. In this review, we provide an update on recent advances and discuss remaining questions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

An extensive literature shows that astrocytes exhibit metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5)-dependent increases in cytosolic calcium ions (Ca2+) in response to glutamatergic transmission and, in turn, modulate neuronal activity by their Ca2+-dependent release of gliotransmitters. These findings, based on studies of young rodents, have led to the concept of the tripartite synapse, in which astrocytes actively participate in neurotransmission. Using genomic analysis, immunoelectron microscopy, and two-photon microscopy of astrocytic Ca2+ signaling in vivo, we found that astrocytic expression of mGluR5 is developmentally regulated and is undetectable after postnatal week 3. In contrast, mGluR3, whose activation inhibits adenytate cyclase but not calcium signaling, was expressed in astrocytes at all developmental stages. Neuroglial signaling in the adult brain may therefore occur in a manner fundamentally distinct from that exhibited during development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most distinguishing features of the adult human brain is the complexity and diversity of its cortical astrocytes. Human protoplasmic astrocytes manifest a threefold larger diameter and have tenfold more primary processes than those of rodents. In all mammals, protoplasmic astrocytes are organized into spatially non-overlapping domains that encompass both neurons and vasculature. Yet unique to humans and primates are additional populations of layer 1 interlaminar astrocytes that extend long (millimeter) fibers, and layer 5–6 polarized astrocytes that also project distinctive long processes. We propose that human cortical evolution has been accompanied by increasing complexity in the form and function of astrocytes, which reflects an expansion of their functional roles in synaptic modulation and cortical circuitry. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A number of studies over the past decade have shown that astrocytes, the supportive cells of the brain, play important roles in synaptic transmission including regulating the strength of both excitatory and inhibitory synapses. A major challenge for the future is to define the role of astrocytes in complex tasks, such as functional hyperemia and sensory processing, as well as their contribution to acute and degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Multiphoton imaging approaches are ideally suited to study electrically non-excitable astrocytes. We here discuss novel in vivo studies aimed at defining the role of astrocytes in normal and pathological brain function. With a better understanding of the role astrocytes play in information processing and regulation of the brain microenvironment in vivo, and the understanding that astrocytes are heavily implicated in the pathology of many diseases such as epilepsy, Alzheimer''s and Parkinson''s diseases, astrocytes provide a promising target for future drug therapy approaches. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]