Preman, P.; Alfonso-Triguero, M.; Alberdi, E.; Verkhratsky, A.; Arranz, A.M. Astrocytes in Alzheimer’s Disease: Pathological Significance and Molecular Pathways. Cells2021, 10, 540.
Preman, P.; Alfonso-Triguero, M.; Alberdi, E.; Verkhratsky, A.; Arranz, A.M. Astrocytes in Alzheimer’s Disease: Pathological Significance and Molecular Pathways. Cells 2021, 10, 540.
Preman, P.; Alfonso-Triguero, M.; Alberdi, E.; Verkhratsky, A.; Arranz, A.M. Astrocytes in Alzheimer’s Disease: Pathological Significance and Molecular Pathways. Cells2021, 10, 540.
Preman, P.; Alfonso-Triguero, M.; Alberdi, E.; Verkhratsky, A.; Arranz, A.M. Astrocytes in Alzheimer’s Disease: Pathological Significance and Molecular Pathways. Cells 2021, 10, 540.
Abstract
Astrocytes perform a wide variety of essential functions defining normal operation of the nervous system, and are active contributors to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer among others. Recent data provide compelling evidence that distinct reactive astrocyte states are associated with specific stages of Alzheimer´s disease. The advent of transcriptomics technologies enables rapid progress in the characterisation of such pathological astrocyte states. In this review, we provide an overview of the origin, main functions, molecular and morphological features of astrocytes in physiological as well as pathological conditions related to Alzheimer´s disease. We will also explore the main roles of astrocytes in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer´s disease and summarize main transcriptional changes and altered molecular pathways observed in astrocytes during the course of the disease.
Keywords
Astrocyte, Alzheimer´s disease, neurodegeneration, transcriptomics, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), cellular states.
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.