Division of Neuroscience & Experimental Psychology, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
Achúcarro Basque Center for Neuroscience, IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, 48011 Bilbao, Spain.
Brain Pathol. 2017 Sep;27(5):629-644. doi: 10.1111/bpa.12537.
Astrocytes, a subtype of glial cells, come in variety of forms and functions. However, overarching role of these cell is in the homeostasis of the brain, be that regulation of ions, neurotransmitters, metabolism or neuronal synaptic networks. Loss of homeostasis represents the underlying cause of all brain disorders. Thus, astrocytes are likely involved in most if not all of the brain pathologies. We tabulate astroglial homeostatic functions along with pathological condition that arise from dysfunction of these glial cells. Classification of astrocytes is presented with the emphasis on evolutionary trails, morphological appearance and numerical preponderance. We note that, even though astrocytes from a variety of mammalian species share some common features, human astrocytes appear to be the largest and most complex of all astrocytes studied thus far. It is then an imperative to develop humanized models to study the role of astrocytes in brain pathologies, which is perhaps most abundantly clear in the case of glioblastoma multiforme.
星形胶质细胞是神经胶质细胞的一种，有多种形态和功能。然而，这些细胞的主要作用是维持大脑的内环境稳定，包括调节离子、神经递质、代谢和神经元突触网络。内环境失衡是所有大脑疾病的根本原因。因此，星形胶质细胞可能参与了大多数甚至所有的大脑病理过程。我们列出了星形胶质细胞的内稳态功能，以及这些胶质细胞功能障碍引起的病理状况。星形胶质细胞的分类主要强调进化轨迹、形态外观和数量优势。我们注意到，尽管来自各种哺乳动物物种的星形胶质细胞有一些共同的特征，但迄今为止研究过的星形胶质细胞中，人类星形胶质细胞似乎是最大和最复杂的。因此，开发人类化模型来研究星形胶质细胞在大脑病理中的作用势在必行，这在多形性胶质母细胞瘤的情况下最为明显。
