Pathophysiologic implications of intermediate filament (IF) proteins up-regulation in astrocytes remain incompletely understood. We studied whether the trafficking of recycling vesicles and endosomes/lysosomes depends on IFs. The findings show that astrocyte IFs differentially affect mobility of vesicles in WT astrocytes and in glial fibrillary acidic protein and vimentin deficient astrocytes; the most prominent changes were observed in endosomes/lysosomes. We propose that up-regulation of IFs in pathologic states may alter the function of astrocytes by deregulating vesicle trafficking.
COBISS.SI-ID: 27046873
The increasingly appreciated role of astrocytes in neurophysiology dictates a thorough understanding of the mechanisms underlying the communication between astrocytes and neurons. The vesicle labeling and the vesicle mobility properties may be an artifact of cell culture conditions, therefore we compared these parameters in brain tissue slices. With two-photon microscopy we studied the traffic of glutamatergic vesicles and peptidergic granules. We report that their mobility parameters are similar to those reported previously in cultured astrocytes.
COBISS.SI-ID: 26269401
This review paper resumes the newest results about the vesicle traffic in astrocytes. In exocytosis membrane bound vesicles fuse with the plasma membrane. In this paper we reviewed exocytotic vesicle traffic, which is subject to physiological regulation and may be changed under pathological conditions.
COBISS.SI-ID: 27751897
Gliotransmitters are released from glial cells. Astrocytes can release a variety of gliotransmitters into the extracellular space using several different mechanisms. In this review, we focus on exocytotic mechanism(s) underlying the release of three classes of gliotransmitters: amino acids, nucleotides, peptides. It is becoming clear that astrocytes are endowed with elements that qualify them as cells communicating with neurons and other cells within the central nervous system by employing regulated exocytosis.
COBISS.SI-ID: 26895833
Astrocytes can respond to signals from the heterocellular milieu of the brain and subsequently release various molecules to signal to themselves and/or other neighboring neural cells. An important functional module that enables signal integration in astrocytes is exocytosis, a Ca(2+)-dependent process consisting of vesicular fusion to the plasma membrane. Vesicles may carry not only lumenal cargo, but also membrane-associated molecules. We discussed exocytosis as a delivery mechanism for transporters and receptors to the plasma membrane.
COBISS.SI-ID: 27589849