Nature: New role! Small glial cells may effectively regulate the function and behavior of neurons in the brain!

11, 2020 // -- Scientists from Mount Sinai Hospital and other institutions have found that playing a scavenger role in the brain helps clean up immune cells of dead cells, or plays a key role in regulating the behavior of mice and human bodies, research published today In the international journal Nature, this particular scavenger cell, called microglia, protects the brain from abnormal activation in health and disease conditions, and the results of this paper are important for scientists to treat behavioral abnormalities associated with neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases in humans.
Image source: Anne Schaefer, M.D., CC0 Public Domain, says that when we think about brain function, we often think about how neurons in the brain control thought and body behavior, but the brain also controls a large number of non-neural cells, including small glial cells. Glial cells may act as "partners" for nerve cells to regulate nerve activity and behavior in the brain, and these small glial cells can perceive and react to nerve activation, while also producing a negative feedback mechanism for excessive nerve activity, a new type of neuromodulation mechanism mediated by small glial cells that plays an important role in protecting the brain from disease. In the
article, the researchers identified a biotransmic circuit in the brain that supports neuron-small glial cell communication, which releases ATP molecules when activated, while small glial cells can sense extracellular ATP, a compound that drives the movement of neurons toward activity, and then small glial cells break down ATP into adenosine, which inhibits the activity of neurons on the surface of active neuron cells.
researcher, Dr. Ana Badimon, said that in inflammatory conditions and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, small glial cells become active and lose the ability to sense ATP molecules and produce adenosine.
may suggest that disease-related behavioral changes may be partly driven by changes in communication between small glial cells and neurons.
the researchers say this biogenic circuit promotes the control of neuron reactions in small glial cells, which may be a potential "pattern shift" in how congenital immune cells in computers affect the behavior of the body, the researchers added, taking into account the presence of small glial cells in the brain However, it also reacts uniquely to signals generated outside the body, an observation that is particularly important, so that small glial cells can also regulate the body's behavioral response by sending signals to neurons, thus acting as an interface between the body's external changes (such as viral infections) and the brain.
Finally, the researchers say that by delving into the mechanisms of interaction between neurons and small glial cells, this study may also advance future research, from targeting small glial cells to finding new ways to regulate the body's normal behavior, to potential treatments and neurodegenerative diseases. In the future, researchers will identify new signaling molecules such as ATP, which will promote the function of small glial cells to regulate highly diverse neurons, including those that control sleep or the body's metabolism, and the results of this paper will help researchers better understand the fine molecular mechanisms of neuromodulation in the body's brain.
() Original source: Badimon, A., Strasburger, H.J., Ayata, P. et al. Negative feedback control of neuronal activity by microglia. Nature (2020). doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2777-8.