Neurons diversify astrocytes in the adult brain through sonic hedgehog signaling

• DOI: 10.1126/science.aab3103
• Publication Date: 2016-02-19T03:46:35Z
• Authors: W. Todd Farmer; Therése Abrahamsson; Sabrina Chierzi; Christopher Lui; Cristian Zaelzer; Emma V. Jones; Blandine Ponroy B...; Gary G. Chen; Jean-Francois Thé...; Jimmy Peng; Charles W. Bourque; Frédéric Charron; Carl Ernst; P. Jesper Sjöström; Keith K. Murai
• Keywords: Male; Neurons; 0301 basic medicine; Smoothened Receptor; Mice, Mutant Strains; Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; Cerebellar Cortex; Mice; 03 medical and health sciences; Astrocytes; Animals; Female; Hedgehog Proteins; Gene Deletion; Signal Transduction

Glial cell properties dictated by neurons

Neurons in the brain coexist with astrocytes, a type of glial cell, which help support many functions of their neighboring nerve cells. Farmer et al. now show that the support goes both ways (see the Perspective by Stevens and Muthukumar). They explored the influence of neurons on two specialized types of astrocytes in the mouse cerebellar cortex. The neurons produced the morphogen known as Sonic Hedgehog. Hedgehog signaling adjusted distinctive gene expression within the two astrocyte cell types. Thus, mature neurons appear to promote and maintain specific properties of associated astrocytes.

Science , this issue p. 849 ; see also p. 813