Aberrant Calcium Signals in Reactive Astrocytes: A Key Process in Neurological Disorders

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 20; no. 4; p. 996
• Main Authors: Shigetomi, Eiji, Saito, Kozo, Sano, Fumikazu, Koizumi, Schuichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 25.02.2019; MDPI
• Subjects: Alexander disease; Astrocytes; Calcium imaging; Calcium ions; Calcium signalling; calcium signals; Convulsions & seizures; Disease; Dyes; epilepsy; Functional morphology; Gene expression; Immune system; Inflammation; Morphology; Neural networks; Neurological diseases; Neurological disorders; Neuronal-glial interactions; Neurotoxicity; Pathogenesis; Phenotypes; Proteomes; reactive astrocytes; Recovery of function; Regeneration; Review; Scars; Signal processing; Synapses; Traumatic brain injury; epilepsy; Alexander disease; calcium signals; reactive astrocytes
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms20040996

Astrocytes are abundant cells in the brain that regulate multiple aspects of neural tissue homeostasis by providing structural and metabolic support to neurons, maintaining synaptic environments and regulating blood flow. Recent evidence indicates that astrocytes also actively participate in brain functions and play a key role in brain disease by responding to neuronal activities and brain insults. Astrocytes become reactive in response to injury and inflammation, which is typically described as hypertrophy with increased expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Reactive astrocytes are frequently found in many neurological disorders and are a hallmark of brain disease. Furthermore, reactive astrocytes may drive the initiation and progression of disease processes. Recent improvements in the methods to visualize the activity of reactive astrocytes in situ and in vivo have helped elucidate their functions. Ca signals in reactive astrocytes are closely related to multiple aspects of disease and can be a good indicator of disease severity/state. In this review, we summarize recent findings concerning reactive astrocyte Ca signals. We discuss the molecular mechanisms underlying aberrant Ca signals in reactive astrocytes and the functional significance of aberrant Ca signals in neurological disorders.