Revisiting the critical roles of reactive astrocytes in neurodegeneration

• Published in: Molecular psychiatry Vol. 28; no. 7; pp. 2697 - 2706
• Main Authors: Qian, Kang, Jiang, Xiaobing, Liu, Zhi-Qiang, Zhang, Juan, Fu, Peng, Su, Ying, Brazhe, Nadezda A., Liu, Dan, Zhu, Ling-Qiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.07.2023; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/378; 692/699; 96/21; Alzheimer Disease - pathology; Alzheimer's disease; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Astrocytes; Astrocytes - metabolism; Behavioral Sciences; Biological Psychology; Blood-brain barrier; Blood-Brain Barrier - metabolism; Central nervous system; Disease; Homeostasis; Humans; Huntington Disease; Huntington's disease; Huntingtons disease; Localization; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolism; Morphology; Movement disorders; Multiple sclerosis; Nervous system; Neurodegeneration; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Neurological disorders; Neurons; Neurosciences; Neurotoxicity; Parkinson's disease; Pharmacotherapy; Physiology; Psychiatry; Review Article
• ISSN: 1359-4184; 1476-5578
• DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02061-8

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.