T Cells' Immunological Synapses Induce Polarization of Brain Astrocytes In Vivo and In Vitro: A Novel Astrocyte Response Mechanism to Cellular Injury

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0002977
• Publication Date: 2008-08-19T17:05:49Z
• Authors: Carlos Barcia; Nicholas S. R. Sa...; Robert J. Barrett; Kolja Wawrowsky; Kurt M. Kroeger; Mariana Puntel; Chunyan Liu; Maria G. Castro; Pedro R. Lowenstein
• Keywords: Male; 0301 basic medicine; Microscopy, Confocal; Science; T-Lymphocytes; Q; R; Brain; Cell Polarity; Thymidine Kinase; Coculture Techniques; Corpus Striatum; Adenoviridae; Rats; 3. Good health; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; 03 medical and health sciences; Astrocytes; Synapses; Medicine; Animals; Spleen; Research Article

Astrocytes usually respond to trauma, stroke, or neurodegeneration by undergoing cellular hypertrophy, yet, their response a specific immune attack T cells is poorly understood. Effector establish contacts with target cells, known as immunological synapses, during clearance of virally infected from the brain. Immunological synapses mediate intercellular communication between and both in vitro vivo. How astrocytes formation established effector unknown.Herein we demonstrate that, consequence cell attack, undergo dramatic morphological changes. From normally multipolar they become unipolar, extending major protrusion towards synapse formed withdrawing most finer processes. Thus, polarized contacting cells. The MTOC, organizer polarity, localized base protrusion, Golgi stacks are distributed throughout reaching distally synapse. rather than causing astrocyte antiviral cause structural reorganization astrocytes.Astrocyte polarization, opposed may be due providing very focused thus, responding manner. A similar polarization was also detected using an allogeneic model. different able induce astrocytes. Polarization play important role regulating outcome attacking whether (e.g. HIV, HTLV-1, HSV-1 LCMV infection), anti-transplant, autoimmune, anti-tumor responses vivo vitro.