Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, USA.
Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.
Adv Neurobiol. 2024;39:19-49. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-64839-7_2.
Glial cells modulate brain development, function, and health across all bilaterian animals, and studies in the past two decades have made rapid strides to uncover the underlying molecular mechanisms of glial functions. The nervous system of the invertebrate genetic model Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) has small cell numbers with invariant lineages, mapped connectome, easy genetic manipulation, and a short lifespan, and the animal is also optically transparent. These characteristics are revealing C. elegans to be a powerful experimental platform for studying glial biology. This chapter discusses studies in C. elegans that add to our understanding of how glia modulate adult neural functions, and thereby animal behaviors, as well as emerging evidence of their roles as autonomous sensory cells. The rapid molecular and cellular advancements in understanding C. elegans glia in recent years underscore the utility of this model in studies of glial biology. We conclude with a perspective on future research avenues for C. elegans glia that may readily contribute molecular mechanistic insights into glial functions in the nervous system.
神经胶质细胞在所有两侧对称动物中调节大脑发育、功能和健康，在过去的二十年中，人们在揭示神经胶质功能的潜在分子机制方面取得了快速进展。无脊椎动物遗传模型秀丽隐杆线虫（C. elegans）的神经系统细胞数量较少，具有不变的谱系、映射的连接组、易于进行遗传操作和较短的寿命，而且该动物也是透明的。这些特征表明，秀丽隐杆线虫是研究神经胶质生物学的强大实验平台。本章讨论了秀丽隐杆线虫的研究，这些研究增加了我们对神经胶质如何调节成年神经功能从而调节动物行为的理解，以及它们作为自主感觉细胞的作用的新证据。近年来，在理解秀丽隐杆线虫神经胶质方面的快速分子和细胞进展突显了该模型在神经胶质生物学研究中的实用性。我们以对秀丽隐杆线虫神经胶质未来研究途径的展望结束，这些途径可能会为神经系统中神经胶质功能的分子机制提供有价值的见解。
