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Functional diversity of astrocytes in neural circuit regulation

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 18, pages 31–41 (2017)Cite this article

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Key Points

  • Astrocytes display numerous inter- and intra-regional distinctions, ranging from differences in their morphology to differential dynamics of calcium signalling.

  • Astrocytes in specific neural circuits modulate neuronal activity, which affects a range of brain functions.

  • Regionally encoded astrocyte functions are required for neuronal homeostasis and survival.

  • Astrocyte heterogeneity is determined by the developmental patterning of the CNS and is refined in adulthood to produce highly specialized neuron–glia units.

  • Under pathological conditions, reactive astrocytes display several molecular and functional changes that have a differential influence on disease outcome.

  • New techniques will help to uncover the molecular and functional heterogeneity of astrocytes both in health and disease.

Abstract

Although it is well established that all brain regions contain various neuronal subtypes with different functions, astrocytes have traditionally been thought to be homogenous. However, recent evidence has shown that astrocytes in the mammalian CNS display distinct inter- and intra-regional features, as well as functional diversity. In the CNS, astrocyte processes fill the local environment in non-overlapping domains. Therefore, a potential advantage of region-specified astrocytes might be their capacity to regulate local development or optimize local neural circuit function. An overview of the regional heterogeneity of neuron–astrocyte interactions indicates novel ways in which they could regulate normal neurological function and shows how they might become dysregulated in disease.

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Figure 1: Astrocytes have a range of morphologies and molecular profiles.
Figure 2: Synapse-specific neuron–astrocyte interactions.
Figure 3: Functions of regionally specialized astrocytes.
Figure 4: Establishment and refinement of astrocyte heterogeneity.

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Change history

  • 07 December 2016

    The name of the corresponding author, David H. Rowitch, was incorrect. This has been corrected in the online version.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Neurological Surgery and Edythe Broad Institute for Stem Cell Research and Regeneration Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, 94143, California, USA

    Lucile Ben Haim & David H. Rowitch

  2. Department of Paediatrics and Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 OQQ, UK

    David H. Rowitch

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  1. Lucile Ben Haim
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Correspondence to David H. Rowitch.

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Haim, L., Rowitch, D. Functional diversity of astrocytes in neural circuit regulation. Nat Rev Neurosci 18, 31–41 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn.2016.159

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