Centre for Research in Neuroscience, Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery, Brain Repair and Integrative Neuroscience Program, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Department of Mathematics, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa Maria, Valparaiso, Chile.
J Neurosci Res. 2021 Dec;99(12):3121-3147. doi: 10.1002/jnr.24967. Epub 2021 Oct 29.
Astrocytes are abundant cells of the central nervous system (CNS) and are involved in processes including synapse formation/function, ion homeostasis, neurotransmitter uptake, and neurovascular coupling. Recent evidence indicates that astrocytes show diverse molecular, structural, and physiological properties within the CNS. This heterogeneity is reflected in differences in astrocyte structure, gene expression, functional properties, and responsiveness to injury/pathological conditions. Deeper investigation of astrocytic heterogeneity is needed to understand how astrocytes are configured to enable diverse roles in the CNS. While much has been learned about astrocytic heterogeneity in rodents, much less is known about astrocytic heterogeneity in the primate brain where astrocytes have greater size and complexity. The common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) is a promising non-human primate model because of similarities between marmosets and humans with respect to genetics, brain anatomy, and cognition/behavior. Here, we investigated the molecular and structural heterogeneity of marmoset astrocytes using an array of astrocytic markers, multi-label confocal microscopy, and quantitative analysis. We used male and female marmosets and found that marmoset astrocytes show differences in expression of astrocytic markers in cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum. These differences were accompanied by intra-regional variation in expression of markers for glutamate/GABA transporters, and potassium and water channels. Differences in astrocyte structure were also found, along with complex interactions with blood vessels, microglia, and neurons. This study contributes to our knowledge of the cellular and molecular features of marmoset astrocytes and is useful for understanding the complex properties of astrocytes in the primate CNS.
星形胶质细胞是中枢神经系统（CNS）中丰富的细胞，参与包括突触形成/功能、离子稳态、神经递质摄取和神经血管耦联在内的过程。最近的证据表明，星形胶质细胞在 CNS 中表现出多样的分子、结构和生理特性。这种异质性反映在星形胶质细胞结构、基因表达、功能特性和对损伤/病理条件的反应性的差异上。需要更深入地研究星形胶质细胞的异质性，以了解星形胶质细胞如何配置以在 CNS 中发挥多样化的作用。虽然已经对啮齿动物的星形胶质细胞异质性有了很多了解，但对灵长类动物大脑中的星形胶质细胞异质性知之甚少，灵长类动物的星形胶质细胞体积更大，结构更复杂。普通狨猴（Callithrix jacchus）是一种很有前途的非人类灵长类动物模型，因为狨猴和人类在遗传学、大脑解剖结构和认知/行为方面有相似之处。在这里，我们使用一系列星形胶质细胞标记物、多标记共聚焦显微镜和定量分析，研究了狨猴星形胶质细胞的分子和结构异质性。我们使用雄性和雌性狨猴，发现狨猴星形胶质细胞在大脑皮层、海马体和小脑中有不同的星形胶质细胞标记物表达。这些差异伴随着谷氨酸/ GABA 转运体以及钾和水通道标记物在区域内表达的变化。还发现了星形胶质细胞结构的差异，以及与血管、小胶质细胞和神经元的复杂相互作用。这项研究有助于我们了解狨猴星形胶质细胞的细胞和分子特征，有助于理解灵长类动物 CNS 中星形胶质细胞的复杂特性。
