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Review
. 2023 Jul;28(7):2697-2706.
doi: 10.1038/s41380-023-02061-8. Epub 2023 Apr 10.

Revisiting the critical roles of reactive astrocytes in neurodegeneration

Kang Qian #  1   2 , Xiaobing Jiang #  2 , Zhi-Qiang Liu #  1 , Juan Zhang  1 , Peng Fu  2 , Ying Su  3 , Nadezda A Brazhe  4 , Dan Liu  5 , Ling-Qiang Zhu  6
Affiliations
Review

Revisiting the critical roles of reactive astrocytes in neurodegeneration

Kang Qian et al. Mol Psychiatry. 2023 Jul.

Abstract

Astrocytes, an integral component of the central nervous system (CNS), contribute to the maintenance of physiological homeostasis through their roles in synaptic function, K+ buffering, blood-brain barrier (BBB) maintenance, and neuronal metabolism. Reactive astrocytes refer to astrocytes undergoing morphological, molecular and functional remodelling in response to pathological stimuli. The activation and differentiation of astrocytes are implicated in the pathogenesis of multiple neurodegenerative diseases. However, there are still controversies regarding their subset identification, function and nomenclature in neurodegeneration. In this review, we revisit the multidimensional roles of reactive astrocytes in Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), Huntington's disease (HD), multiple sclerosis (MS) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Furthermore, we propose a precise linkage between astrocyte subsets and their functions based on single-cell sequencing analyses.

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