Cell–matrix interactions and glia involvement are crucial factors to be considered for the design of injectable hydrogels in treatment central nervous system pathologies.

Increasing evidence supports both direct and indirect roles for retinal glia in the pathogenesis of glaucoma. To complicate these roles is the realization that glial activity can be both beneficial and detrimental to the survival of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and their axons. The contribution of glia to glaucoma pathogenesis also varies by compartment; glia in retina react differently to dis...

Sox proteins of group C are strongly expressed in the developing nervous system and have been associated with maturation of neurons and glia. Here, we overexpressed the group C protein Sox4 in transgenic mice under the control of the human GFAP promoter. Transgene expression was detected in radial glia and astrocytes throughout the CNS. The transgenic mice were ataxic and exhibited hydrocephaly...

Radial glia play an essential role in the generation of the cerebral cortex through their function as neuronal precursors and as neuronal migration guides. A molecular marker for radial glia in the developing central nervous system is the brain lipid-binding protein (BLBP). To generate mouse models for the visualization and study of radial glia, we expressed EGFP, EYFP, or dsRed2 in transgenic ...

For the last several decades, there has been little debate over the origins of central and peripheral glia. Central nervous system (CNS) glia, including oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, and radial glia, are specified from CNS neural precursors[1], whereas peripheral nervous system (PNS) glia, including Schwann cells and satellite glia, are derivatives of the neural crest [2]. However, this strict ...

Long before the discovery of green fluorescent protein (GFP), Ramon y Cajal recognized glia’s intimate association with synapses in the brain. Though their function was at that time a mystery, he predicted that glia must be doing more than simply filling the spaces between neurons. Not surprisingly, Cajal was correct. Although incapable of firing action potentials, glia are highly excitable cel...

Glial cells form a network in the central nervous system to support neurons and interact with them. The glia consist essentially of astrocytes that help with the nutrition of neurons and react in some cases of injury, oligodendrocytes that produce myelin, and microglia that are derived from the haemopoietic system and are concerned with the immunological defense of the nervous system. Experimen...

Glial cells form a network in the central nervous system to support neurons and interact with them. The glia consist essentially of astrocytes that help with the nutrition of neurons and react in some cases of injury, oligodendrocytes that produce myelin, and microglia that are derived from the haemopoietic system and are concerned with the immunological defense of the nervous system. Experimen...

Gliogenesis in the adult mouse brain Neural stem cells can generate both neurons and glia. Exactly where each cell is positioned determine what type of it generates. Delgado et al. show that neural are also choosy about sorts glia they make when (see Perspective by Baldwin Silver). Injury or selective deletion platelet-derived growth factor receptor ? (PDGFR?) from kicked them into overdrive re...