Publication Date
8-1-2023
Journal
The Neuroscientist
DOI
10.1177/10738584221082620
PMID
35373633
PMCID
PMC9526762
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
8-1-2023
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Author MSS
Published Open-Access
yes
Keywords
Humans, Astrocytes, Prospective Studies, Central Nervous System, Brain, Gene Expression Regulation
Abstract
Astrocytes are the most abundant glial cell in the central nervous system and occupy a wide range of roles that are essential for brain function. Over the past few years, evidence has emerged that astrocytes exhibit cellular and molecular heterogeneity, raising the possibility that subsets of astrocytes are functionally distinct and that transcriptional mechanisms are involved in encoding this prospective diversity. In this review, we focus on three emerging areas of astrocyte biology: region-specific circuit regulation, molecular diversity, and transcriptional regulation. This review highlights our nascent understanding of how molecular diversity is converted to functional diversity of astrocytes through the lens of brain region-specific circuits. We articulate our understanding of how transcriptional mechanisms regulate this diversity and key areas that need further exploration to achieve the overarching goal of a functional taxonomy of astrocytes in the brain.