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Published on: June 4, 2020
The interlaminar glia: from serendipity to hypothesis
1Director Emeritus, Unidad de Neurobiología Aplicada (CEMIC-CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina. drjacolombo@yahoo.com.
Insights
Researchers discovered unique interlaminar glial processes in primate brains, differing from classical glial cells. These processes, observed in various mammals and conditions, may play a role in cerebral cortex organization.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cell Biology
- Primate Anatomy
Background:
- Research at UNA laboratories since 1992 focused on glial processes in the cerebral cortex.
- Classical astroglial cells are typically intralaminar (within layers).
Observation:
- Serendipitous observation of unusually long glial processes in superficial cortical layers of hemiparkinsonian Cebus apella monkeys.
- These processes were termed 'interlaminar' to distinguish them from intralaminar glial cells.
Findings:
- Expanded sampling across mammalian orders and species revealed interlaminar glial processes as a primate characteristic.
- These processes are affected by neuropathological conditions (e.g., Down syndrome [DS], Alzheimer disease [AD]) and experimental sensory input alterations.
- Evidence suggests thalamic involvement in the normal expression of interlaminar glial processes.
Implications:
- Speculative roles for interlaminar glial processes in cerebral cortex organization are proposed.
- Understanding their ontogenetic development, phylogenetic evolution, and aging changes is crucial.
- Further research into their function in both health and disease is warranted.
Abstract:
An account of work performed at the UNA laboratories since 1992 on the detection and description of interlaminar glial processes, is presented. The incidental observation (serendipity) of longer than expected glial processes in the superficial layers of the cerebral cortex in hemiparkinsonian Cebus apella monkeys, was expanded afterwards to cover the largest possible sampling of representatives of mammalian orders and species, as well as in experimental and pathological conditions, in human and non-human primates. The term interlaminar was coined to differentiate these processes from the classical astroglial stellate, intralaminar ones. Such account grew to the point of inspiring, on speculative grounds, possible roles in the organization of the cerebral cortex. Interlaminar glial processes represent an essentially primate characteristic, affected by neuropathological conditions such as DS and AD and experimental procedures affecting normal sensory input, suggesting thalamic involvement in their normal expression. Their ontogenetic development, phylogenetic evolution and aging changes are described.
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