Primary human astrocytes produce 24(S),25-epoxycholesterol with implications for brain cholesterol homeostasis

Extracellular nucleotides differentially regulate interleukin-1beta signaling in primary human astrocytes: implications for inflammatory gene expression.

The cytokine interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) is a potent activator of human astrocytes, inducing or modulating expression of multiple proinflammatory genes via activation of the transcription factors nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) and activator protein-1 (AP-1). In this study, we examined whether IL-1beta signaling is regulated in these cells by extracellular nucleotides that are released at hi...

Cholesterol homeostasis in human brain: evidence for an age-dependent flux of 24S-hydroxycholesterol from the brain into the circulation.

We have investigated whether side chain-hydroxylated cholesterol species are important for elimination of cholesterol from the brain. Plasma concentrations of 24-hydroxycholesterol (24-OH-Chol) in the internal jugular vein and the brachial artery in healthy volunteers were consistent with a net flux of this steroid from the brain into the circulation, corresponding to elimination of approximate...

Human astrocytes in the diseased brain

Astrocytes are key active elements of the brain that contribute to information processing. They not only provide neurons with metabolic and structural support, but also regulate neurogenesis and brain wiring. Furthermore, astrocytes modulate synaptic activity and plasticity in part by controlling the extracellular space volume, as well as ion and neurotransmitter homeostasis. These findings, to...

Plasma cholesterol concentration and primary brain tumours.

Transcriptomic Analysis Unveils Correlations between Regulative Apoptotic Caspases and Genes of Cholesterol Homeostasis in Human Brain

Regulative circuits controlling expression of genes involved in the same biological processes are frequently interconnected. These circuits operate to coordinate the expression of multiple genes and also to compensate dysfunctions in specific elements of the network. Caspases are cysteine-proteases with key roles in the execution phase of apoptosis. Silencing of caspase-2 expression in cultured...