Browsing by Subject "GFAP"

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    Astrocyte heterogeneity and gliosis in Huntington’s disease: Histopathological insights into striatal and white matter pathology
    (2026) Taylor Brown; Rocio Gomez-Pastor; Ross Pelzel; Biología Celular e Histología
    Huntington’s disease (HD) is a devastating, autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive motor dysfunction, cognitive decline, and psychiatric disturbances. Among the major pathological hallmarks of HD are mutant huntingtin aggregation, white matter loss and reactive astrogliosis, which together contribute to neuronal dysfunction and death, particularly in the striatum and cortex. Recent studies in HD mouse models have identified a specialized astrocyte subtype that clusters around white matter bundles originating from the secondary cortex and passing through the striatum. While the functional role of these astrocytes remains unclear, they express Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP), a marker typically associated with both fibrous and reactive astrocytes. The discovery of this white matter-associated astrocyte subtype, along with other astrocytic subtypes differing between grey and white matter, underscores the complexity of glial responses in HD. Accurate identification and interpretation of these glial populations are crucial for understanding disease mechanisms and progression. Given the overlapping expression profiles of commonly used astrocyte markers like GFAP, the careful selection and application of both astrocyte and white matter markers in histopathological analyses are essential to advance our understanding of how glial cells contribute to HD pathology. In this review we discuss different histopathological approaches to assess the roles of glia in HD, emphasizing the need for standardized approaches and critical evaluation of marker specificity.
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    Dopamine D3 receptor blockade accelerates the extinction of opioid withdrawal-induced drug-seeking behaviours and alters microglia in dopaminoceptive nuclei
    (2025-05-21) Franco García, Aureliio; Gómez Murcia, Victoria; Milanés Maquilón, María Victoria; Núñez Parra, Cristina; Farmacología
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    No rapid and demarcating astroglial reaction to stab wounds in Agama and Gecko lizards and the caiman Paleosuchus - it is confined to birds and mammals
    (Universidad de Murcia, Departamento de Biologia Celular e Histiologia, 2020) Lőrincz, Dávid; Kálmán, Mihály
    y. The present study proves that the rapid and demarcating astroglial reactions are confined to birds and mammals. To understand the function of post-lesion astroglial reaction, the phylogenetical aspects are also to be investigated. Considering the regenerative capabilities, reptiles represent an intermediate position between the brain regeneration-permissive fishes and amphibians and the almost non-permissive birds and mammals. Damage is followed by a rapid astroglial reaction in the mammalian and avian brain, which is held as an impediment of regeneration. In other vertebrates the reactions were usually observed following long survival periods together with signs of regeneration, therefore they can be regarded as concomitant phenomena of regeneration. The present study applies short post-lesion periods comparable to those seen in mammals and birds for astroglial reactions. Two species of lizards were used: gecko (leopard gecko, Eublepharis macularius, Blyth, 1854) and agama (bearded dragon, Pogona vitticeps, Ahl, 1926). The gecko brain is rich in GFAP whereas the agama brain is quite poor in this. Crocodilia, the closest extant relatives of birds were represented in this study by Cuvier's dwarf caiman (Paleosuchus palpebrosus, Cuvier, 1807). The post-lesion astroglial reactions of crocodilians have never been investigated. The injuries were stab wounds in the telencephalon. The survival periods lasted 3, 7, 10 or 14 days. Immunoperoxidase reactions were performed applying anti-GFAP, anti-vimentin and anti-nestin reagents. No rapid and demarcating astroglial reaction resembling that of mammalian or avian brains was found. Alterations of the perivascular immunoreactivities of laminin and β-dystroglycan as indicators of glio-vascular decoupling proved that the lesions were effective on astroglia. The capability of rapid and demarcating astroglial reaction seems to be confined to mammals and birds and to appear by separate, parallel evolution in them.