The discovery of a clear, synaptic-like microvesicle in the adult hippocampal astrocyte, by Andrea Volterra's group at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, provided the framework for understanding ...

We will begin by highlighting a subset of the many cellular functions of astrocytes, focusing specifically on those functions that have the most relevance to neurodegeneration (Figure 1). Other ...

Resting brain stem cells hardly differ from normal astrocytes, which support the nerve cells in the brain. How can almost identical cells perform such different functions? The key lies in the ...

Cedars-Sinai investigators have discovered a healing mechanism that could one day be harnessed to help treat patients with spinal cord injuries, stroke, and neurological conditions such as multiple ...

Brain cells named for stars are finally getting their time to shine. Three distinct studies, published May 15 in Science, show that astrocytes, once thought of as support cells, powerfully shape how ...

The latticework of extracellular protein that surrounds brain cells forms a particularly dense mesh around fast-spiking interneurons. Why do these cells need such thick coats? In the July 17 Nature ...

The potential effects of astrocyte dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases are summarized in Figure 2. AD is characterized clinically by cognitive loss in two or more domains, including memory, ...