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Complex and region-specific changes in astroglial markers in the aging brain
José J Rodríguez1, Chia-Yu Yeh, Slavica Terzieva
1IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain; Department of Neurosciences, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU and CIBERNED, Leioa, Spain.
Neurobiology of Aging
|August 24, 2013
Summary
Astrocytes in the brain undergo significant age-related changes. These morphological alterations in glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-positive cells vary by brain region, indicating region-specific aging processes.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cell Biology
- Aging Research
Background:
- Astrocytes are crucial glial cells in the central nervous system, supporting neuronal function and maintaining brain homeostasis.
- Aging is associated with cellular and molecular changes in the brain, but astrocyte remodeling across different brain regions remains incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the age-dependent morphological changes in astrocytes within specific brain regions: entorhinal cortex (EC), dentate gyrus (DG), and cornu ammonis 1 (CA1) of the hippocampus.
- To analyze regional differences in astrocyte morphology using multiple protein markers during aging.
Main Methods:
- Utilized immunohistochemistry with markers glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), glutamine synthetase (GS), and s100β to visualize astrocytes in mouse brain tissue.
- Employed confocal or light microscopy for imaging astroglial profiles.
- Conducted morphometric analysis to quantify changes in surface area, volume, and cell body volume across different age groups (3, 9, 18, and 24 months).
Main Results:
- GFAP-positive astrocytes in the hippocampus (DG and CA1) exhibited hypertrophy (increased size) with age.
- Conversely, GFAP-positive astrocytes in the entorhinal cortex showed a decrease in size with aging.
- GS-positive astrocytes decreased in size in the hippocampus but remained unchanged in the EC, while s100β-positive profiles increased in the EC and DG, but not CA1.
Conclusions:
- Astrocytes undergo complex, region-specific morphological remodeling during aging.
- The observed regional variations in astrocyte morphology suggest distinct aging trajectories in different brain areas, impacting their function.
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