title: Role of astrocytes in glutamate homeostasis: implications for excitotoxicity.
abstract: Glutamate homeostasis in the brain is maintained by its well balanced release, uptake and metabolism. It appears that astrocytes play a prominent role in this context since they possess a very powerful battery of glutamate transporters. Thus, malfunction of astrocytic glutamate transporters will lead to an excessively high extracellular glutamate concentration which may result in neurodegeneration caused by the excitotoxic action of glutamate.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Pharmacology, Danish University of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universitetsparken 2, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark. as@dfuni.dk
authors.forename: Arne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schousboe
authors.forename: Helle S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Waagepetersen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity*; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological
chemical_list: D018698:Glutamic Acid