Garland Emma F, Hartnell Iain J, Boche Delphine
Clinical Neurosciences, Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom.
Front Neurosci. 2022 Feb 16;16:824888. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.824888. eCollection 2022.
Microglia and astrocytes play essential roles in the central nervous system contributing to many functions including homeostasis, immune response, blood-brain barrier maintenance and synaptic support. Evidence has emerged from experimental models of glial communication that microglia and astrocytes influence and coordinate each other and their effects on the brain environment. However, due to the difference in glial cells between humans and rodents, it is essential to confirm the relevance of these findings in human brains. Here, we aim to review the current knowledge on microglia-astrocyte crosstalk in humans, exploring novel methodological techniques used in health and disease conditions. This will include an in-depth look at cell culture and iPSCs, studies, imaging and fluid biomarkers, genetics and transcriptomic data. In this review, we will discuss the advantages and limitations of these methods, highlighting the understanding these methods have brought the field on these cells communicative abilities, and the knowledge gaps that remain.
小胶质细胞和星形胶质细胞在中枢神经系统中发挥着重要作用，参与许多功能，包括内环境稳态、免疫反应、血脑屏障维持和突触支持。从胶质细胞通讯的实验模型中已有证据表明，小胶质细胞和星形胶质细胞相互影响并协调彼此，以及它们对脑环境的影响。然而，由于人类和啮齿动物胶质细胞存在差异，因此有必要在人类大脑中证实这些发现的相关性。在此，我们旨在综述目前关于人类小胶质细胞-星形胶质细胞相互作用的知识，探索在健康和疾病状态下使用的新方法技术。这将包括深入研究细胞培养和诱导多能干细胞、研究、成像和液体生物标志物、遗传学和转录组数据。在本综述中，我们将讨论这些方法的优点和局限性，强调这些方法为该领域带来的对这些细胞通讯能力的理解，以及仍然存在的知识空白。
