Lipid Metabolism Crosstalk in the Brain: Glia and Neurons
Open accessAbstract
Until recently, glial cells have been considered mainly support cells for neurons in the mammalian brain. However, many studies have unveiled a variety of glial functions including electrolyte homeostasis, inflammation, synapse formation, metabolism, and the regulation of neurotransmission. The importance of these functions illuminates significant crosstalk between glial and neuronal cells. Importantly, it is known that astrocytes secrete signals that can modulate both presynaptic and postsynaptic function. It is also known that the lipid compositions of the pre- and post-synaptic membranes of neurons greatly impact functions such as vesicle fusion and receptor mobility. These data suggest an essential lipid-mediated communication between glial cells and neurons. Little is known, however, about how the lipid metabolism of both cell types may interact. In this review, we discuss neuronal and glial lipid metabolism and suggest how they might interact to impact neurotransmission.
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Astrocytes are the most abundant cell type in the brain.
“Astrocytes are the most abundant cell type in the brain”
From Nuclear SphK2/S1P signaling is a key regulator of ApoE production and Aβ uptake in astrocytes (2024) · cites this paper as [6]
The Abstract says glial cells are the predominant cell type in the mammalian brain and identifies astrocytes as one of three main glial types. It does not say astrocytes themselves are the most abundant cell type. (LLM, conf=0.82)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredNeuron and astrocyte are coupled in lipid metabolism.
“As the two most abundant, and energetically most essential cell types in the brain, neuron and astrocyte are coupled in not only glucose oxidation (Magistretti and Allaman, 2018; Yellen, 2018), but also lipid metabolism (Barber and Raben, 2019).”
From ApoE4 Impairs Neuron-Astrocyte Coupling of Fatty Acid Metabolism (2021) · cites this paper as Barber and Raben, 2019
Astrocytes are responsible for maintaining lipid homeostasis.
“are responsible for maintaining lipid homeostasis (6)”
From Nuclear SphK2/S1P signaling is a key regulator of ApoE production and Aβ uptake in astrocytes (2024) · cites this paper as [6]
Peroxidation of lipids affects membrane fluidity of neurons and consequently transport of neurotransmitters.
“Peroxidation of lipids affects the membrane fluidity of neurons and consequently the transport of neurotransmitters (Barber and Raben 2019).”
From Reactive Oxygen Species, Toxicity, Oxidative Stress, and Antioxidants: Chronic Diseases and Aging (2023) · cites this paper as Barber and Raben 2019
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- Authors
- Barber, C. N., & Raben, D. M.
- Affiliations
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Raben, Daniel M.
- ORCID
- Barber, Casey N.
- Venue
- Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2019-05-21
- Volume
- 13
- Pages
- 212-212
- ISSN
- 1662-5102 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6536584
- OpenAlex
- W2943647644
- Cited by
- 188
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 25 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 33 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 32 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 2.42
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01NS077923)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biochemistry › Lipid metabolism and biosynthesis
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Fatty Acid Research and Health
- Keywords
- lipid metabolism, astrocytes, neurons, neurotransmission, receptor mobility, glial signaling
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