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Review
. 2012:2012:197491.
doi: 10.1155/2012/197491. Epub 2012 Jul 11.

Astrocytes and developmental plasticity in fragile X

Connie Cheng  1 , Mary Sourial, Laurie C Doering
Affiliations
Review

Astrocytes and developmental plasticity in fragile X

Connie Cheng et al. Neural Plast. 2012.

Abstract

A growing body of research indicates a pivotal role for astrocytes at the developing synapse. In particular, astrocytes are dynamically involved in governing synapse structure, function, and plasticity. In the postnatal brain, their appearance at synapses coincides with periods of developmental plasticity when neural circuits are refined and established. Alterations in the partnership between astrocytes and neurons have now emerged as important mechanisms that underlie neuropathology. With overall synaptic function standing as a prominent link to the expression of the disease phenotype in a number of neurodevelopmental disorders and knowing that astrocytes influence synapse development and function, this paper highlights the current knowledge of astrocyte biology with a focus on their involvement in fragile X syndrome.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The role of astrocytes in FXS. It is becoming increasingly apparent that, in addition to presynaptic terminals and postsynaptic dendritic spines, synapses contain a third element: the fine processes of the astrocyte, which intimately enwrap the first two elements.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Examples of Fragile X astrocyte-neuron cocultures. (a) FMR1 WT astrocytes + WT neurons double labeled with MAP-2 (neuron in red) and gephyrin (astrocytes in green); (b) FMR1 KO astrocytes + WT neurons identified with MAP-2 (neurons in green) and GFAP (astrocytes in red); DAPI—nuclei (blue).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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