title: Astrocyte signaling and neurodegeneration: new insights into CNS disorders.
abstract: Growing evidence indicates that astrocytes cannot be just considered as passive supportive cells deputed to preserve neuronal activity and survival, but rather they are involved in a striking number of active functions that are critical to the performance of the central nervous system (CNS). As a consequence, it is becoming more and more evident that the peculiar properties of these cells can actively contribute to the extraordinary functional complexity of the brain and spinal cord.   This new perception of the functioning of the CNS opens up a wide range of new possibilities to interpret various physiological and pathological events, and moves the focus beyond the neuronal compartment toward astrocyte-neuron interactions. With this in mind, here we provide a synopsis of the activities astrocytes perform in normal conditions, and we try to discuss what goes wrong with these cells in specific pathological conditions, such as Alzheimer Disease, prion diseases and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Research on Neurodegenerative Disorders, IRCCS Fondazione Salvatore Maugeri, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Liliana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brambilla
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Martorana
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rossi
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D017096:Prion Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D015398:Signal Transduction
keywords: Alzheimer disease; Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis; Ca2+; astrocytes; glutamate; prion diseases