Lee Eunbeol, Chung Won-Suk
Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, South Korea.
Front Cell Neurosci. 2019 Feb 13;13:42. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2019.00042. eCollection 2019.
Glial cells are emerging as crucial players that mediate development and homeostasis of the central nervous system (CNS). In particular, glial cells are closely associated with synapses, and control synapse formation, function, plasticity, and elimination during the stages of development and adulthood. Importantly, it is now increasingly evident that abnormal glial function can be an active inducer of the initiation and progression of various neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we discuss recent developments on the physiological roles of glial cells in the brain, and propose that synapse loss, which is a common characteristic of several neurodegenerative diseases, can be initiated by mis-regulation of normal glial function.
神经胶质细胞正逐渐成为介导中枢神经系统（CNS）发育和稳态的关键角色。特别是，神经胶质细胞与突触密切相关，并在发育和成年阶段控制突触的形成、功能、可塑性和消除。重要的是，现在越来越明显的是，神经胶质细胞功能异常可能是各种神经退行性疾病发生和进展的主动诱导因素。在这里，我们讨论了神经胶质细胞在大脑中生理作用的最新进展，并提出突触丧失作为几种神经退行性疾病的共同特征，可能是由正常神经胶质细胞功能的调节异常引发的。
