Bone morphogenetic protein signaling in astrocyte maturation
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Astrocytes constitute a major cell population in the brain with a myriad of essential functions, yet we know remarkably little about the signaling pathways and mechanisms that direct astrocyte maturation. To explore the signals regulating astrocyte development, we prospectively purified and cultured immature postnatal rodent astrocytes. We identified fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) and bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) as robust trophic factors for immature astrocytes. We showed that astrocytes respond directly to BMPs via phosphorylation of the smad1/5/8 pathway. In vitro, BMP signaling promoted immature astrocytes to adopt multiple characteristics of mature astrocytes, including a more process-bearing morphology, aquaporin-4 (AQP4) and S100 [beta] immunoreactivity, limited proliferation, and strong downregulation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). In vivo, activation of the smad1/5/8 pathway in astrocytes was seen during early postnatal development, but inhibition of astrocyte proliferation was not observed. These insights can aid in the further dissection of mechanisms and pathways controlling astrocyte biology and development.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2014 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Scholze, Anja Rose |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Program in Developmental Biology. |
| Primary advisor | Barres, Ben |
| Thesis advisor | Barres, Ben |
| Thesis advisor | Elias, Joshua |
| Thesis advisor | McConnell, Susan K |
| Thesis advisor | Talbot, William |
| Advisor | Elias, Joshua |
| Advisor | McConnell, Susan K |
| Advisor | Talbot, William |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Anja Rose Scholze. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Program in Developmental Biology. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2014. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2014 by Anja Rose Scholze
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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