Department of Neuroscience & Experimental Therapeutics, Texas A&M University College of Medicine, 8447 Riverside Pkwy, Bryan, TX, 77807-3260, USA; Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience (TAMIN), Texas A&M University College of Medicine, 8447 Riverside Pkwy, Bryan, TX, 77807-3260, USA.
Cell Calcium. 2021 Mar;94:102341. doi: 10.1016/j.ceca.2020.102341. Epub 2021 Jan 2.
Astrocytes are morphologically and functionally linked to neuronal synapses, and can regulate the activity of neural circuits, brain function, and behavior. However, the molecular mechanisms by which astrocytes regulate fundamental biological processes such as sleep are not completely understood. Wu and colleagues show that an increase in calcium signals within the processes of astrocytes of the fruit fly brain can promote sleep by upregulating the expression of a monoamine receptor, TyrRII, which in turn activates sleep promoting neurons via the astrocytic release of an interleukin-1 analog, spatzle. This study provides compelling evidence for a novel molecular mechanism by which increases in astrocytic calcium signals can induce sleep by activating sleep promoting neurons in the fly brain.
星形胶质细胞在形态和功能上与神经元突触相连，能够调节神经回路的活动、大脑功能和行为。然而，星形胶质细胞调节睡眠等基本生物学过程的分子机制尚不完全清楚。Wu 及其同事的研究表明，果蝇大脑星形胶质细胞突起内钙信号的增加可以通过上调单胺受体 TyrRII 的表达来促进睡眠，TyrRII 的表达继而通过星形胶质细胞释放白细胞介素-1 类似物 spatzle 激活促进睡眠的神经元。这项研究为星形胶质细胞钙信号增加通过激活果蝇大脑中的促进睡眠神经元诱导睡眠的新分子机制提供了有力证据。
