Habib, N. et al. Nat. Neurosci. 23, 701–706 (2020)

Increasing evidence indicates that non-neuronal cells have a major role in the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Single-cell RNA sequencing analyses in mouse and human have identified a microglia type associated with AD, but astrocytes have been less characterized in the disease.

A new study using single-nucleus RNA sequencing to compare cell populations in the hippocampi of 7-month-old wild-type and AD mice (5xFAD) identified a unique astrocyte state in AD mice. The disease-associated astrocytes had an inflammatory and neurotoxic expression profile, with increased expression of Serpina3n, which encodes a protein linked to amyloid accumulation. Further investigation is needed to understand the role of these cells and their potential as a therapeutic target for AD.