Neurons (magenta) signal to astrocytes (green)TODD FARMER, MCGILL UNIVERSITY HEALTH CENTRENeurons in the adult mouse brain can shape the features and physiologies of nearby astroglial cells, according to a study published today (February 18) in Science. Researchers at McGill University in Montreal and their colleagues have identified a molecular signal called sonic hedgehog (Shh), secreted by neurons, that acts as the agent of change.
“What’s very exciting about the paper is this notion that a cell’s fate might be determined—after it has already established its morphology and location in the brain—based on interactions with its neighbors,” said neurologist Ed Ruthazer of the Montreal Neurological Institute at McGill who was not involved in the research. “And the conversion is not superficial,” he added, “it really does seem to fundamentally reorganize the transcriptome of the cell.”
Astroglia are non-neuronal cells in the central nervous system that generally support and modulate neuronal function. The mammalian brain has an assortment of astrocytes, which perform a variety of specialized functions. This diversity was largely thought to be established during embryogenesis and early postnatal development, said Keith Murai of McGill who led the new research. ...
