Swelling of Astrocytes

Astrocytes undergo rapid swelling in certain acute pathological conditions like ischemia and traumatic brain injury. Different mechanisms are involved in such swelling process of astrocytes. Some of these are, decreasing extracellular fluid osmolality, intracellular acidosis, formation of ammonia, increase in Na", K", 2CT co-transporter system, and due to drastically... 

A widespread early reponse by astrocytes is that they demonstrate swelling and cytoplasmic lucency within minutes of reduction in CBF.1416 However, there is increasing evidence that the microglial response (see below) precedes or at least parallels that of astrocytes. The most notable response by astrocytes occurs in perivascular foot processes (Figure 2.1), possibly related to the high concentration of transport systems in the membranes of these processes. Swollen astrocyte foot processes demonstrate a lucent cytoplasm lacking arty content of cytoplasmic... 

Aschner M, Eberle NB, Miller K, Kimelberg HK. 1990. Interactions of methylmercury with rat primary astrocyte cultures inhibition of rubidium and glutamate uptake and induction of swelling. Brain Res 530 245-250. 

Willard-Mack, C. L., Koehler,R. C.,Hirata,T. etal. Inhibition of glutamine synthetase reduces ammonia-induced astrocyte swelling in rat. Neuroscience 71 589-599,1996. 

Kimelberg, H. K., Goderie, S. K., Igman, S., Pang, S., and Wanlewski, R. A. (1990). Swelling-induced release of glutamate, aspartate, and taurine from astrocyte cultures.. Neurosci. 10, 1583—1591. 

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