A Snapshot seminar hosted by the School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience

Philip Hasel

Abstract: Astrocytes are a highly abundant cell type in the central nervous system. They perform core homeostatic functions that keep neurons alive throughout the life span of an animal. In disease, however, astrocytes undergo a reactive transformation (often referred to as ‘astrocyte reactivity’ or ‘astrogliosis’) that can render them dysfunctional or even neurotoxic. Recent studies applying single cell RNA-sequencing and spatial transcriptomics approaches have highlighted the immense heterogeneity of astrocytes in both the healthy and diseased brain. They appear to adjust their molecular make up, morphology and function to the circuit or anatomical domain they occupy and can show subtype-specific reactive transformations. I recently identified the molecular identity of the astrocyte subtype that makes up the brain surface, glia limitans superficialis astrocytes. I showed that their Myocilin-positive cell bodies tile the brain surface, with their processing reaching into the brain parenchyma. I am excited to give an overview of recent discoveries in astrocyte heterogeneity and talk about how my lab will interrogate what exactly glia limitans cells look like, what they do at the borders of the brain, and what can go awry with them in disease.