Glial cells tagged posts

Researchers in Japan have revealed a previously unknown mechanism for pain control involving a newly identified group of cells in the spinal cord, offering a potential target for enhancing the therapeutic effect of drugs for chronic pain.

While neurons may be the most well-known cells of the central nervous system, an assortment of non-neuronal cells first discovered in the mid-nineteenth century also play a wide variety of important roles.

Originally named after the Greek word for “glue,” these glial cells are now known to be much more than glue and in fact are critical elements for regulating neuronal development a...

A simple drug cocktail that converts cells neighboring damaged neurons into functional new neurons could potentially be used to treat stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, and brain injuries. A team of researchers at Penn State identified a set of four, or even three, molecules that could convert glial cells – which normally provide support and insulation for neurons – into new neurons. A paper describing the approach appears online in the journal Stem Cell Reports on February 7, 2019.

“The biggest problem for brain repair is that neurons don’t regenerate aft...

A mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH) section shows microglia (green) in contact with AgRP neurons (red), which are critical hypothalamic neurons in the regulation of food intake and body weight. Credit: Image by the Suneil Koliwad Lab

Diet study finds link between brain inflammation and obesity in mice. Immune cells in the brain trigger overeating and weight gain in response to diets rich in fat, according to a new study in mice led by researchers from UC San Francisco and the University of Washington Medical Center. Brain-resident microglia could be targets for obesity treatments that might avoid many side effects of the obesity drugs currently in clinical use.

“Microglia are not neurons, but they account for 10 to 15% of the cells in the brain,” said Suneil Koliwad, MD, PhD, assistant profess...

Highlights
•Mexican ZIKV strain infects primary human fetal brain-derived neural stem cells
•ZIKV inhibits neuronal differentiation in a cell-strain-dependent manner
•Majority of differentiated ZIKV-infected cells are glial cells
•ZIKV-mediated transcriptome alteration is cell-strain-dependent

A multidisciplinary team from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has uncovered the mechanisms that the Zika virus uses to alter brain development. These findings are detailed in Stem Cell Reports. There are currently 70 countries and territories reporting active Zika transmission, according to the World Health Organization...