Glial cells, role

Glial cells are cells within the central or peripheral nervous system which are not immediately involved in information processing. Glial cells play an mportant role in the metabolic homeostasis of brain tissue and in nervous system development. 

In the past few years an increasing set of evidence has converged on the major role of glial cells and alterations in their function in the pathway toward... 

Baslow MH (2000) Functions of W-acetyl-L-aspartatc and W-acetyl-L-asparty[glutamate in the vertebrate brain role in glial cell-specific signaling. J Neurochem 75 453—459... 

Murphy S. Production of nitric oxide by glial cells regulation and potential roles in the CNS. Glia 2000 29 1-13. 

Hussy, N., Deleuze, C., Desarmenien, M. G. and Moos, F. C. Osmotic regulation of neuronal activity a new role for taurine and glial cells in a hypothalamic neuroendocrine structure. Prog. Neurobiol. 62 113-134, 2000. 

Cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) play critical roles in all facets of nervous system development and maintenance. Important phenomena in which CAMs are involved include initial formation of the neural tube and the neural crest, migration of all neurons and glial cells, axonal outgrowth and guidance, target selection, synaptic stabilization and plasticity, myelination and nerve regeneration after injury (see Chs 4,24,28-30 and 53). Adhesion molecules interact with each other and with nonadhesive cell-surface and/or cytoplasmic molecules, and, in the two... 

Individual neurons and glial cells are responsive to a number of different growth factors. Growth factors play both unique and overlapping roles in the development and sustenance of these cells. Perhaps the most dramatic example of this is the elaborate array of trophic factors that have evolved to support spinal motor neurons. There are presently at least 15 different factors that are known to influence the survival of these cells [4]. 

Moreover,bioactive lipids maybe considered dual messengers they modulate cell functions as messengers and they become part of the response of the nervous tissue to injury, broadly referred to as the inflammatory response. This response occurs in ischemia-reperfusion damage associated with stroke, various forms of neurotrauma, infectious diseases and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer s disease. Inflammation in the nervous system differs from that in other tissues. If the blood-brain barrier is broken, blood-borne inflammatory cells (e.g. polymorphonuclear leukocytes, monocytes, macrophages) invade the intercellular space and glial cells are activated, particularly microglia, which play a prominent role in the inflammatory response. These responses may... 

Other Cells with a Possible Regulatory Function It has been clearly demonstrated that natural killer cells, epithelial cells, macrophages, glial cells, etc., express suppressor cytokines such as IL-10 and TGF-(3. Although their role has not been coined as professional regulatory cells, these cells may efficiently contribute to the generation and maintenance of a regulatory/suppressor type immune response [121-126]. The expression of suppressor cytokines in resident tissue cells may additionally contribute to this process (table 1). 

Paulsen RE, Lonnum L. 1989. Role of glial cells for the basal and Ca " -dependent K" -evoked release of transmitter amino acids investigated by microdialysis. J Neurochem 52(6) 1823-1829. 

Figure 8.22 The glutamate/glutamine shuttle for provision of the glutamate neurotransmitter in the brain. This illustrates another role for glial cells in the brain.

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