Calcineurin triggers reactive/inflammatory processes in astrocytes and is upregulated in aging and Alzheimer's models.

ABSTRACT: Astrocyte reactivity (i.e., activation) and associated neuroinflammation are increasingly thought to contribute to neurodegenerative disease. However, the mechanisms that trigger astrocyte activation are poorly understood. Here, we studied the Ca2+-dependent phosphatase calcineurin, which regulates inflammatory signaling pathways in immune cells, for a role in astrogliosis and brain neuroinflammation. Adenoviral transfer of activated calcineurin to primary rat hippocampal cultures resulted in pronounced thickening of astrocyte somata and processes compared with uninfected or virus control cultures, closely mimicking the activated hypertrophic phenotype. This effect was blocked by the calcineurin inhibitor cyclosporin A. Parallel microarray studies, validated by extensive statistical analys

SUBMITTER: Norris CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1201418 | biostudies-literature | 2005 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature