TY - JOUR
T1 - Astrocyte Endfeet in Brain Function and Pathology
T2 - Open Questions
AU - Díaz-Castro, Blanca
AU - Robel, Stefanie
AU - Mishra, Anusha
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2023 by the author(s).
PY - 2023/7/10
Y1 - 2023/7/10
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - astrocyte
KW - blood-brain barrier
KW - cerebral blood flow
KW - endfoot
KW - neurovascular coupling
KW - vasculature
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85161994692&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85161994692&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1146/annurev-neuro-091922-031205
DO - 10.1146/annurev-neuro-091922-031205
M3 - Review article
C2 - 36854317
AN - SCOPUS:85161994692
SN - 0147-006X
VL - 46
SP - 101
EP - 121
JO - Annual Review of Neuroscience
JF - Annual Review of Neuroscience
ER -