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PMID: 19782411 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Review

Molecular dissection of reactive astrogliosis and glial scar formation.

Trends in neurosciences ·Vol. 32 ·No. 12 ·2009-12-00 ·Pages 638-47

Sofroniew MV

Abstract

Reactive astrogliosis, whereby astrocytes undergo varying molecular and morphological changes, is a ubiquitous but poorly understood hallmark of all central nervous system pathologies. Genetic tools are now enabling the molecular dissection of the functions and mechanisms of reactive astrogliosis in vivo. Recent studies provide compelling evidence that reactive astrogliosis can exert both beneficial and detrimental effects in a context-dependent manner determined by specific molecular signaling cascades. Reactive astrocytes can have both loss of normal functions and gain of abnormal effects that could feature prominently in a variety of disease processes. This article reviews developments in the signaling mechanisms that regulate specific aspects of reactive astrogliosis and highlights the potential to identify novel therapeutic molecular targets for diverse neurological disorders.

MeSH Terms
Animals Astrocytes/metabolism,pathology,physiology Cicatrix/metabolism,physiopathology Drug Delivery Systems Gliosis/drug therapy,metabolism,physiopathology Humans Models, Biological Neurons/pathology,physiology Neuroprotective Agents/therapeutic use Signal Transduction
Chemicals
Neuroprotective Agents
Authors & Affiliations
1 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Sofroniew Michael V
Department of Neurobiology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1763, USA. sofroniew@mednet.ucla.edu
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Article Info
Journal
Trends in neurosciences
Abbr.
Trends Neurosci
ISSN
1878-108X
DOI
10.1016/j.tins.2009.08.002
Email
sofroniew@mednet.ucla.edu
Published
2009-12-00
Epub
2009-00-24
Pages
638-47
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
7808616
PMCID
PMC2787735
Subset
IM
Grants
NINDS NIH HHS · R01 NS047386-05 · United States
NINDS NIH HHS · R01 NS057624-02S1 · United States
NINDS NIH HHS · NS057624 · United States
NINDS NIH HHS · R01 NS047386 · United States
NINDS NIH HHS · R21 NS042693-02 · United States
NINDS NIH HHS · R01 NS057624 · United States
NINDS NIH HHS · R21 NS042039-03 · United States
NINDS NIH HHS · R21 NS042039 · United States
NINDS NIH HHS · R21 NS042693 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2009.08.002 PMC Full Text View journal details
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