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Review
. 2023 May 26;11(15):3385-3394.
doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i15.3385.

Astrocytes in the central nervous system and their functions in health and disease: A review

Lidija Gradisnik  1 , Tomaz Velnar  2   3
Affiliations
Review

Astrocytes in the central nervous system and their functions in health and disease: A review

Lidija Gradisnik et al. World J Clin Cases. .

Abstract

Astrocytes are key cells in the central nervous system. They are involved in many important functions under physiological and pathological conditions. As part of neuroglia, they have been recognised as cellular elements in their own right. The name astrocyte was first proposed by Mihaly von Lenhossek in 1895 because of the finely branched processes and star-like appearance of these particular cells. As early as the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Ramon y Cajal and Camillo Golgi had noted that although astrocytes have stellate features, their morphology is extremely diverse. Modern research has confirmed the morphological diversity of astrocytes both in vitro and in vivo and their complex, specific, and important roles in the central nervous system. In this review, the functions of astrocytes and their roles are described.

Keywords: Astrocyte functions; Astrocytes; Molecular markers; Morphology.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Human astrocytes. A: The primary culture of human astrocytes. Images: Zeiss Axiovert 40 inverted microscope, × 50 magnification. Scale bar = 200 μm. Original figure taken by the authors; B: The immunocytochemical characterization of adult human astrocytes. Morphology of the cells was determined with a fluorescent phalloidin conjugate, which binds selectively to actin filaments (red). In low-density cultures, adult astrocytes exhibit a polygonal form with actin filaments adjacent to the cell membrane. Nuclei were counter-stained with 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (blue). Images: EVOS FL fluorescence microscope, × 10 magnification. Scale bar = 400 μm.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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