Brain goes nuclear
- Scientists discovered that nuclear pores in
astrocytes may play important roles in the brain.
Courtesy of Akassoglou lab, Gladstone Institute
NIH-funded study highlights the possible role of glial brain
cells in neurological disorders
(August 17, 2015) Every
brain cell has a nucleus, or a central command station. Scientists have shown
that the passage of molecules through the nucleus of a star-shaped brain cell,
called an astrocyte, may play a critical role in health and disease. The study,
published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, was partially funded by the
National Institutes of Health (NIH).
“Unexpectedly we may have discovered a hidden pathway to
understanding how astrocytes respond to injury and control brain processes. The
pathway may be common to many brain diseases and we’re just starting to follow
it,” said Katerina Akassoglou, Ph.D., a senior investigator at the Gladstone
Institute for Neurological Disease, a professor of neurology at the University
of California, San Francisco, and a senior author of the study.
Some neurological disorders are associated with higher than
normal brain levels of the growth factor TGF-beta, including Alzheimer's
disease and brain injury. Previous studies found that after brain injury,
astrocytes produce greater amounts of p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR), a
protein that helps cells detect growth factors. The cells also react to
TGF-beta by changing their shapes and secreting proteins that alter neuronal
activity.