Although alterations in glial structure and function commonly accompany death of neurons in neurodegenerative diseases, the role glia play in modulating neuronal loss is poorly understood. We have created a model of Alexander disease in Drosophila by expressing disease-linked mutant versions of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in fly glia. We find aggregation of mutant human GFAP into inc...

Accumulating evidence indicates that alterations in glial activation and disturbances in glial glutamate metabolism may contribute to the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) are involved in glutamate homeostasis as well as in glial proliferation. Using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry we found a strong upregulation of grou...

Lipocalin-2 (LCN2) is a key mediator of various cellular processes. Recent studies have indicated that LCN2 also plays an important role in central nervous system (CNS) injuries and neurological diseases, such as spinal cord injury, stroke, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, and neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we investigated the role of LCN2 in a rodent model of lipopolysaccharide (L...

Neural injury triggers swift responses from glia, including glial migration and phagocytic clearance of damaged neurons. The transcriptional programs governing these complex innate glial immune responses are still unclear. Here, we describe a novel injury assay in adult Drosophila that elicits widespread glial responses in the ventral nerve cord (VNC). We profiled injury-induced changes in VNC ...

In the nervous system, glial cells provide crucial insulation and trophic support to neurons and are important for neuronal survival. In reaction to a wide variety of insults, glial cells respond with changes in cell morphology and metabolism to allow repair. Additionally, these cells can acquire migratory and proliferative potential. In particular, after axonal damage or pruning the clearance ...

Glial activation during aging was analyzed in primary glia cultured from brain regions sampled across the life span. An initial study showed that phenotypes of activated astrocytes and microglia from aging rat cerebral cortex persisted in primary cultures (Neurobiol. Aging 19 (1998), 97). We extend these findings by examining effects of age on the activation of glial cultures from adult rat bra...

Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) is a neuron-derived trophic molecule that supports axoglial and neuromuscular development through several alternatively spliced isoforms; its possible role in the pathogenesis and progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is not known. We analyzed the relationship of NRG1 isoform expression to glial cell activation and motor neuron loss in spinal cords of ALS patien...

Cell migration is an important feature of glial cells. Here, we used the Drosophila eye disc to decipher the molecular network controlling glial migration.We stimulated glial motility by pan-glial PDGF receptor (PVR) activation and identified several genes acting downstream of PVR. Drosophila lox is a non-essential gene encoding a secreted protein that stiffens the extracellular matrix (ECM). G...

To date four types of glial cells have been identified in central nervous system: astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, microglia, ependymocytes. The latest results indicate the existence of the fifth glial type-synantocytes from the Greek word synanto that is for contact. Synantocyte processes reach neurons, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, microglia, synapses, myelin sheaths and nervous fibres' nodes of...

Thyroid hormone plays a crucial role in the development and function of the nervous system. In order to bind to its nuclear receptor and regulate gene transcription thyroxine needs to be activated in the brain. This activation occurs via conversion of thyroxine to T3, which is catalyzed by the type 2 iodothyronine deiodinase (D2) in glial cells, in astrocytes, and tanycytes in the mediobasal hy...