Shaham Shai
The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021, USA.
Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2006 Oct;16(5):522-8. doi: 10.1016/j.conb.2006.08.001. Epub 2006 Aug 28.
A century and a half after first being described, glia are beginning to reveal their intricate and important roles in nervous system development and function. Recent studies in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans suggest that this invertebrate will provide important insight into these roles. Studies of C. elegans have revealed a connection between glial ensheathment of neurons and tubulogenesis, have uncovered glial roles in neurite growth, navigation, and function, and have demonstrated roles for glia and glia-like cells in synapse formation and function. Given the conservation of basic anatomical, functional and molecular features of the nervous systems between C. elegans and vertebrates, these recent advances are likely to be informative in describing nervous system assembly and function in all organisms possessing a nervous system.
在首次被描述后的一个半世纪，神经胶质细胞开始揭示它们在神经系统发育和功能中复杂而重要的作用。近期对线虫秀丽隐杆线虫的研究表明，这种无脊椎动物将为深入了解这些作用提供重要线索。对秀丽隐杆线虫的研究揭示了神经胶质细胞对神经元的包裹与微管形成之间的联系，发现了神经胶质细胞在神经突生长、导航和功能方面的作用，并证明了神经胶质细胞和类神经胶质细胞在突触形成和功能中的作用。鉴于秀丽隐杆线虫与脊椎动物神经系统在基本解剖学、功能和分子特征上的保守性，这些最新进展可能有助于描述所有具有神经系统的生物体中神经系统的组装和功能。
