Cited by 235Alzheimer's disease research and treatmentsNeuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration MechanismsNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research

Review: Astrocytes in Alzheimer's disease and other age‐associated dementias: a supporting player with a central role

Garwood, C. J., Ratcliffe, L. E., Simpson, J. E., Heath, P. R., Ince, P. G., Wharton, S. B.·2017·Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology

Abstract

Astrocytes have essential roles in the central nervous system and are also implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disease. Forming non‐overlapping domains, astrocytes are highly complex cells. Immunohistochemistry to a variety of proteins can be used to study astrocytes in tissue, labelling different cellular components and sub‐populations, including glial fibrillary acidic protein, ALDH 1L1, CD 44, NDRG 2 and amino acid transporters, but none of these labels the entire astrocyte population. Increasing heterogeneity is recognized in the astrocyte population, a complexity that is relevant both to their normal function and pathogenic roles. They are involved in neuronal support, as active components of the tripartite synapse and in cell interactions within the neurovascular unit (NVU), where they are essential for blood–brain barrier maintenance and neurovascular coupling. Astrocytes change with age, and their responses may modulate the cellular effects of neurodegenerative pathologies, which alone do not explain all of the variance in statistical models of neurodegenerative dementias. Astrocytes respond to both the neurofibrillary tangles and plaques of Alzheimer's disease, to hyperphosphorylated tau and Aβ, eliciting an effect which may be neuroprotective or deleterious. Not only astrocyte hypertrophy, in the form of gliosis, occurs, but also astrocyte injury and atrophy. Loss of normal astrocyte functions may contribute to reduced support for neurones and dysfunction of the NVU. Understanding how astrocytes contribute to dementia requires an understanding of the underlying heterogeneity of astrocyte populations, and the complexity of their responses to pathology. Enhancing the supportive and neuroprotective components of the astrocyte response has potential translational applications in therapeutic approaches to dementia.

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Authors
Garwood, C. J., Ratcliffe, L. E., Simpson, J. E., Heath, P. R., Ince, P. G., & Wharton, S. B.
Affiliations
University of Sheffield (GB)
Corresponding author
Garwood, C. J.
Venue
Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2017-05-22
Volume
43
Issue
4
Pages
281-298
ISSN
  • 0305-1846 (ISSN-L)
  • 1365-2990
OpenAlex
W2497919201
Cited by
233
References
155
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 43 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 1
FWCI
2.50
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • Alzheimer Society
  • Alzheimer’s Research UK (ART PG2006/6, ART PG2010‐5)
  • Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/K006711/1)
  • Medical Research Council (MRC/J004308/1, MRC/G9901400)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
Keywords
astrocytes, Alzheimer's disease, astrocyte heterogeneity, neurovascular unit, blood-brain barrier, neurovascular coupling, tripartite synapse, gliosis, astrocyte injury, neurofibrillary tangles, amyloid plaques, hyperphosphorylated tau, amyloid-beta, astrocyte subpopulations, neuroprotection
MeSH terms
Aging, Alzheimer Disease, Animals, Astrocytes, Dementia, Humans

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