Postnatal development of the molecular complex underlying astrocyte polarization.

ABSTRACT: Astrocytes are highly polarised cells with processes that ensheath microvessels, cover the brain surface, and abut synapses. The endfoot membrane domains facing microvessels and pia are enriched with aquaporin-4 water channels (AQP4) and other members of the dystrophin associated protein complex (DAPC). Several lines of evidence show that loss of astrocyte polarization, defined by the loss of proteins that are normally enriched in astrocyte endfeet, is a common denominator of several neurological diseases such as mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, and stroke. Little is known about the mechanisms responsible for inducing astrocyte polarization in vivo. Here we introduce the term endfoot-basal lamina junctional complex (EBJC) to denote the proteins that consolidate and chara

SUBMITTER: Lunde LK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4481305 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature