Astrocyte heterogeneity within white matter tracts and a unique subpopulation of optic nerve head astrocytes.

ABSTRACT: Much of what we know about astrocyte form and function is derived from the study of gray matter protoplasmic astrocytes, whereas white matter fibrous astrocytes remain relatively unexplored. Here, we used the ribotag approach to isolate ribosome-associated mRNA and investigated the transcriptome of uninjured fibrous astrocytes from three regions: unmyelinated optic nerve head, myelinated optic nerve proper, and corpus callosum. Astrocytes from each region were transcriptionally distinct and we identified region-specific astrocyte genes and pathways. Energy metabolism, particularly oxidative phosphorylation and mitochondrial protein translation emerged as key differentiators of astrocyte populations. Optic nerve astrocytes expressed higher levels of neuroinflammatory pathways than corpus ca

SUBMITTER: Mazumder AG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9708923 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature