{"title":"Astrocyte Endfeet in Brain Function and Pathology: Open Questions.","authors":"Blanca Díaz-Castro, Stefanie Robel, Anusha Mishra","doi":"10.1146/annurev-neuro-091922-031205","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Astrocyte endfeet enwrap the entire vascular tree within the central nervous system, where they perform important functions in regulating the blood-brain barrier (BBB), cerebral blood flow, nutrient uptake, and waste clearance. Accordingly, astrocyte endfeet contain specialized organelles and proteins, including local protein translation machinery and highly organized scaffold proteins, which anchor channels, transporters, receptors, and enzymes critical for astrocyte-vascular interactions. Many neurological diseases are characterized by the loss of polarization of specific endfoot proteins, vascular dysregulation, BBB disruption, altered waste clearance, or, in extreme cases, loss of endfoot coverage. A role for astrocyte endfeet has been demonstrated or postulated in many of these conditions. This review provides an overview of the development, composition, function, and pathological changes of astrocyte endfeet and highlights the gaps in our knowledge that future research should address.</p>","PeriodicalId":8008,"journal":{"name":"Annual review of neuroscience","volume":"46 ","pages":"101-121"},"PeriodicalIF":12.1000,"publicationDate":"2023-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"17","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Annual review of neuroscience","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-neuro-091922-031205","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/2/28 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"NEUROSCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 17
Abstract
Astrocyte endfeet enwrap the entire vascular tree within the central nervous system, where they perform important functions in regulating the blood-brain barrier (BBB), cerebral blood flow, nutrient uptake, and waste clearance. Accordingly, astrocyte endfeet contain specialized organelles and proteins, including local protein translation machinery and highly organized scaffold proteins, which anchor channels, transporters, receptors, and enzymes critical for astrocyte-vascular interactions. Many neurological diseases are characterized by the loss of polarization of specific endfoot proteins, vascular dysregulation, BBB disruption, altered waste clearance, or, in extreme cases, loss of endfoot coverage. A role for astrocyte endfeet has been demonstrated or postulated in many of these conditions. This review provides an overview of the development, composition, function, and pathological changes of astrocyte endfeet and highlights the gaps in our knowledge that future research should address.
期刊介绍:
The Annual Review of Neuroscience is a well-established and comprehensive journal in the field of neuroscience, with a rich history and a commitment to open access and scholarly communication. The journal has been in publication since 1978, providing a long-standing source of authoritative reviews in neuroscience.
The Annual Review of Neuroscience encompasses a wide range of topics within neuroscience, including but not limited to: Molecular and cellular neuroscience, Neurogenetics, Developmental neuroscience, Neural plasticity and repair, Systems neuroscience, Cognitive neuroscience, Behavioral neuroscience, Neurobiology of disease. Occasionally, the journal also features reviews on the history of neuroscience and ethical considerations within the field.