Department of Neurological and Movement Sciences, Section of Anatomy and Histology, University of Verona, Strada Le Grazie 8, Verona 37134, Italy.
Neurochem Int. 2013 Dec;63(7):652-9. doi: 10.1016/j.neuint.2013.08.001. Epub 2013 Aug 17.
The conventional notion that neurons are exclusively responsible for brain signaling is increasingly challenged by the idea that brain function in fact depends on a complex interplay between neurons, glial cells, vascular endothelium, and immune-related blood cells. Recent data demonstrates that neuronal activity is profoundly affected by an entire cellular and extracellular 'orchestra', the so-called neurovascular unit (NVU). Among the 'musical instruments' of this orchestra, there may be molecules long-known in biomedicine as important mediators of inflammatory and immune responses in the organism, as well as non-neuronal cells, e.g., leukocytes. We here review recent evidence on the structure and function of the NVU, both in the healthy brain and in pathological conditions, such as the abnormal NVU activation observed in epilepsy. We will argue that a better understanding of NVU function will require the addition of new players to the 'orchestra'.
传统观点认为神经元是大脑信号传递的唯一责任人，而这个观点正逐渐受到挑战，人们认为大脑功能实际上取决于神经元、神经胶质细胞、血管内皮细胞和与免疫相关的血细胞之间的复杂相互作用。最近的数据表明，神经元活动受到整个细胞和细胞外“管弦乐队”的深刻影响，这个所谓的神经血管单元（NVU）。在这个管弦乐队的“乐器”中，可能有一些分子在生物医学中早已被认为是机体炎症和免疫反应的重要介质，以及非神经元细胞，如白细胞。我们在这里回顾了 NVU 在健康大脑和病理条件下的结构和功能的最新证据，例如癫痫中观察到的异常 NVU 激活。我们认为，要更好地理解 NVU 的功能，需要向“管弦乐队”中添加新的参与者。
