Editorial: The role of astrocyte signalling pathways in ageing-induced neurodegenerative pathologies

Abstract

Astrocytes are a group of cells with specific morphological and functional characteristics that vary in different regions of the brain. During postnatal development, astrocytes migrate to the regions of interest in the brain. Astrocytes interact with neurons to protect, support and maintain normal cellular homeostasis during physiological ageing of the central nervous system (CNS), including the brain, spinal cord and retina. Mature astrocytes retain most of the genes expressed in progenitor cells to keep their proliferative potential. In the last few decades, astrocytes have been reported to serve an important role in age-related neurodegenerative diseases..