• HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
Tuesday, March 2, 2021
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

Brain cell network supplies neurons with energy

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
January 19, 2021
in Health
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Researchers identify important function of the so-called oligodendrocytes

IMAGE

Credit: © Group Steinhäuser; from: Cerebral Cortex, January 2018;28: 213-222; doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhw368

The human brain has about as many neurons as glial cells. These are divided into four major groups: the microglia, the astrocytes, the NG2 glial cells, and the oligodendrocytes. Oligodendrocytes function primarily as a type of cellular insulating tape: They form long tendrils, which consist largely of fat-like substances and do not conduct electricity. These wrap around the axons, which are the extensions through which the nerve cells send their electrical impulses. This prevents short circuits and accelerates signal forwarding.

Astrocytes, on the other hand, supply the nerve cells with energy: Through their appendages they come into contact with blood vessels and absorb glucose from these. They then transport it to the interfaces between two neurons, the synapses. Before that, they partially convert the sugar into other energy-rich molecules. “We have now been able to show that oligodendrocytes play an important role in the distribution of these compounds,” explains Prof. Christian Steinhäuser from the Institute of Cellular Neurosciences at the University of Bonn (Germany). “This is apparently especially true in a particular brain region, the thalamus.”

Huge supply network

The thalamus is also called the “gateway to consciousness”. The sensory signals it receives include those from the ears, eyes, and skin. It then forwards them to the respective responsible centers of the cerebral cortex. Only then do we become aware of this information, for instance the sound of an instrument.

It has long been known that astrocytes can form close connections: They build intercellular networks through tunnel-like coupling. Molecules can migrate from one cell to another through these “gap junctions”. A few years ago, Steinhäuser and his colleagues were able to show that there are also oligodendrocytes in these networks in the thalamus, about as many as astrocytes. The cells form a huge network in this way, which neuroscientists also call a “panglial network” (“pan” comes from Greek and means “comprehensive”). In other regions, however, the networks consist predominantly of coupled astrocytes. “We wanted to know why this is different here,” explains Dr. Camille Philippot of Steinhäuser’s research group, who conducted much of the work. “Our results demonstrate that the high-energy compounds travel through this network from the blood vessels to the synapses,” Philippot emphasizes. “And oligodendrocytes seem to be indispensable in this process.”

The researchers were for instance able to demonstrate this in mice, in which the oligodendrocytes are unable to participate in the network because they lack the appropriate tunnels. In these mice, energy molecules no longer reached the synapses in sufficient quantities. The same was true if the astrocytes lacked the appropriate connecting links. “The thalamus apparently requires both cell types for transport,” Steinhäuser concludes.

Starved neurons cannot communicate

The researchers were also able to show the consequences of such a disrupted energy supply for neuronal information processing. The synapses are where two neurons meet – a sender cell and a receiver cell. When a pulse from the sender cell arrives at the synapse, it releases messenger molecules into the synaptic cleft. These neurotransmitters dock onto the recipient cell and trigger electrical signals there, the postsynaptic potentials. When these signals are generated, potassium and sodium ions pass through the membrane of the recipient cell – sodium ions inward, potassium ions outward. These, like the neurotransmitters, must then be pumped back again. “And for that, the neurons need energy,” explains Steinhäuser, who is also a member of the Transdisciplinary Research Area “Life and Health” at the University of Bonn. “When energy is lacking, pumping activity ceases.” In the experiments, “starved” neurons were therefore no longer able to generate postsynaptic activity after just a few minutes.

###

The findings of the basic research allow a better understanding of the processes involved in signal processing in the brain. They may also shed new light on diseases in which oligodendrocytes do not function properly.

Publication: Camille Philippot, Stephanie Griemsmann, Ronald Jabs, Gerald Seifert, Helmut Kettenmann and Christian Steinhäuser: Astrocytes and oligodendrocytes in the thalamus jointly maintain synaptic activity by supplying metabolites. Cell Reports, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108642

Media Contact
Prof. Christian Steinhäuser (University of Bonn)
[email protected]

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108642

Tags: BiologyCell BiologyMedicine/Healthneurobiology
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

IMAGE

School-based dental program reduces cavities by more than 50%

March 1, 2021
IMAGE

Alcohol and tobacco sales climb during early months of COVID-19 pandemic

March 1, 2021

Swapping alpha cells for beta cells to treat diabetes

March 1, 2021

Goodbye UTIs: Duke scientists develop vaccine strategy for urinary tract infections

March 1, 2021

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

POPULAR NEWS

  • IMAGE

    Terahertz accelerates beyond 5G towards 6G

    653 shares
    Share 261 Tweet 163
  • People living with HIV face premature heart disease and barriers to care

    83 shares
    Share 33 Tweet 21
  • Global analysis suggests COVID-19 is seasonal

    38 shares
    Share 15 Tweet 10
  • HIV: an innovative therapeutic breakthrough to optimize the immune system

    35 shares
    Share 14 Tweet 9

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Tags

BiologyCell BiologyChemistry/Physics/Materials SciencesTechnology/Engineering/Computer ScienceMaterialsGeneticsPublic HealthClimate ChangeEcology/EnvironmentcancerInfectious/Emerging DiseasesMedicine/Health

Recent Posts

  • Coffee for the birds: connecting bird-watchers with shade-grown coffee
  • 2nd window ICG predicts gross-total resection/progression-free survival in brain metastasis
  • Tissue, scaffold technologies provide new options for breast cancer, other diseases
  • A materials science approach to combating coronavirus
  • Contact Us

© 2019 Bioengineer.org - Biotechnology news by Science Magazine - Scienmag.

No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

© 2019 Bioengineer.org - Biotechnology news by Science Magazine - Scienmag.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In