Astrocytes in physiological aging and Alzheimer's disease

doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.01.007

Review

. 2016 May 26:323:170-82.

doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.01.007. Epub 2015 Jan 14.

Astrocytes in physiological aging and Alzheimer's disease

J J Rodríguez-Arellano¹, V Parpura², R Zorec³, A Verkhratsky⁴

Affiliations

¹ Achucarro Center for Neuroscience, IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, 48011 Bilbao, Spain; Department of Neurosciences, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU and CIBERNED, Leioa, Spain. Electronic address: j.rodriguez-arellano@ikerbasque.org.
² Department of Neurobiology, Civitan International Research Center and Center for Glial Biology in Medicine, Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, Atomic Force Microscopy & Nanotechnology Laboratories, 1719 6th Avenue South, CIRC 429, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL 35294-0021, USA; Department of Biotechnology, University of Rijeka, Radmile Matejčić 2, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia.
³ University of Ljubljana, Institute of Pathophysiology, Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology and Molecular Cell Physiology, Zaloska cesta 4, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; Celica, BIOMEDICAL, Technology Park 24, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
⁴ Achucarro Center for Neuroscience, IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, 48011 Bilbao, Spain; Department of Neurosciences, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU and CIBERNED, Leioa, Spain; University of Ljubljana, Institute of Pathophysiology, Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology and Molecular Cell Physiology, Zaloska cesta 4, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; Celica, BIOMEDICAL, Technology Park 24, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK. Electronic address: Alexej.Verkhratsky@manchester.ac.uk.

PMID: 25595973
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.01.007

Review

Astrocytes in physiological aging and Alzheimer's disease

J J Rodríguez-Arellano et al. Neuroscience. 2016.

. 2016 May 26:323:170-82.

doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.01.007. Epub 2015 Jan 14.

Authors

J J Rodríguez-Arellano¹, V Parpura², R Zorec³, A Verkhratsky⁴

Affiliations

¹ Achucarro Center for Neuroscience, IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, 48011 Bilbao, Spain; Department of Neurosciences, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU and CIBERNED, Leioa, Spain. Electronic address: j.rodriguez-arellano@ikerbasque.org.
² Department of Neurobiology, Civitan International Research Center and Center for Glial Biology in Medicine, Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, Atomic Force Microscopy & Nanotechnology Laboratories, 1719 6th Avenue South, CIRC 429, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL 35294-0021, USA; Department of Biotechnology, University of Rijeka, Radmile Matejčić 2, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia.
³ University of Ljubljana, Institute of Pathophysiology, Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology and Molecular Cell Physiology, Zaloska cesta 4, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; Celica, BIOMEDICAL, Technology Park 24, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
⁴ Achucarro Center for Neuroscience, IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, 48011 Bilbao, Spain; Department of Neurosciences, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU and CIBERNED, Leioa, Spain; University of Ljubljana, Institute of Pathophysiology, Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology and Molecular Cell Physiology, Zaloska cesta 4, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; Celica, BIOMEDICAL, Technology Park 24, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK. Electronic address: Alexej.Verkhratsky@manchester.ac.uk.

PMID: 25595973
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.01.007

Abstract

Astrocytes are fundamental for homoeostasis, defence and regeneration of the central nervous system. Loss of astroglial function and astroglial reactivity contributes to the aging of the brain and to neurodegenerative diseases. Changes in astroglia in aging and neurodegeneration are highly heterogeneous and region-specific. In animal models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) astrocytes undergo degeneration and atrophy at the early stages of pathological progression, which possibly may alter the homeostatic reserve of the brain and contribute to early cognitive deficits. At later stages of AD reactive astrocytes are associated with neurite plaques, the feature commonly found in animal models and in human diseased tissue. In animal models of the AD reactive astrogliosis develops in some (e.g. in the hippocampus) but not in all regions of the brain. For instance, in entorhinal and prefrontal cortices astrocytes do not mount gliotic response to emerging β-amyloid deposits. These deficits in reactivity coincide with higher vulnerability of these regions to AD-type pathology. Astroglial morphology and function can be regulated through environmental stimulation and/or medication suggesting that astrocytes can be regarded as a target for therapies aimed at the prevention and cure of neurodegenerative disorders.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; aging; astrocyte; neurodegeneration; neuroglia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Cited by

Inflammatory aspects of Alzheimer's disease.
Botella Lucena P, Heneka MT. Botella Lucena P, et al. Acta Neuropathol. 2024 Aug 28;148(1):31. doi: 10.1007/s00401-024-02790-2. Acta Neuropathol. 2024. PMID: 39196440 Review.
Astrocyte Heterogeneity in the Adult Central Nervous System.
Miller SJ. Miller SJ. Front Cell Neurosci. 2018 Nov 15;12:401. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2018.00401. eCollection 2018. Front Cell Neurosci. 2018. PMID: 30524236 Free PMC article. Review.
Forced turnover of aged microglia induces an intermediate phenotype but does not rebalance CNS environmental cues driving priming to immune challenge.
O'Neil SM, Witcher KG, McKim DB, Godbout JP. O'Neil SM, et al. Acta Neuropathol Commun. 2018 Nov 26;6(1):129. doi: 10.1186/s40478-018-0636-8. Acta Neuropathol Commun. 2018. PMID: 30477578 Free PMC article.
Engineering extracellular vesicles for Alzheimer's disease: An emerging cell-free approach for earlier diagnosis and treatment.
Lazar SV, Mor S, Wang D, Goldbloom-Helzner L, Clark K, Hao D, Farmer DL, Wang A. Lazar SV, et al. WIREs Mech Dis. 2022 Mar;14(2):e1541. doi: 10.1002/wsbm.1541. Epub 2021 Oct 19. WIREs Mech Dis. 2022. PMID: 35266650 Free PMC article. Review.
Astrocyte Function Is Affected by Aging and Not Alzheimer's Disease: A Preliminary Investigation in Hippocampi of 3xTg-AD Mice.
Bronzuoli MR, Facchinetti R, Valenza M, Cassano T, Steardo L, Scuderi C. Bronzuoli MR, et al. Front Pharmacol. 2019 Jun 6;10:644. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2019.00644. eCollection 2019. Front Pharmacol. 2019. PMID: 31244658 Free PMC article.

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

Actions
Actions
Actions

MeSH terms

Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources
- ClinicalKey
- Elsevier Science
Other Literature Sources
- scite Smart Citations
Medical
- MedlinePlus Health Information

Save citation to file

Email citation

Add to Collections

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search

Create a file for external citation management software

Your RSS Feed

Astrocytes in physiological aging and Alzheimer's disease

Affiliations

Astrocytes in physiological aging and Alzheimer's disease

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Similar articles

Cited by

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Other Literature Sources

Medical