• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Saturday, June 14, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

Non-neuronal cells drive sex differences in early brain development

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
July 19, 2021
in Health
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
ADVERTISEMENT
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

IMAGE

Credit: W. Christopher Risher, Ph.D.
Marshall University

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – During development, brain cells may find different ways to connect with each other based on sex, according to researchers at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine.

The study, recently published in eNeuro, an open access journal for the Society of Neuroscience, showed a significantly more robust synaptogenic response in male-derived cells compared to female-derived cells when exposed to factors secreted from astrocytes, which are non-neuronal cells found throughout the central nervous system. This difference was driven largely by how neurons responded to thrombospondin-2 (TSP2), a protein with cell adhesion properties that is normally secreted by astrocytes. In the study, TSP2 prompted a strong increase in synapses in male neurons while showing no effect on female neurons.

This work provides strong evidence that synapses, which serve as the basic building blocks for brain connectivity, may be formed by vastly different mechanisms during early development.

“Our goal is to better understand at a basic cellular level if there are sex differences in how cellular networks form in the brain,” said W. Christopher Risher, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biomedical sciences at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and corresponding author on the study. “In this study, for the first time, we see evidence that events which were always assumed to be occurring in the same manner, regardless of sex, may actually be completely different in males compared to females. The fact that these differences involve astrocytes, which have traditionally been ignored in neuroscience but have recently become a hot topic for study, makes them all the more intriguing.”

Risher’s team, led by first author Anna Mazur, Ph.D., isolated brain cells (neurons and astrocytes) from male and female newborn rats for this study. Once the cells were isolated, they were cultured for up to two weeks in various combinations with each other and then imaged on a fluorescent microscope to determine how many synapses were formed at the end of the experiment. In addition, the cells were treated with TSP2 as well as numerous regulators of estrogen signaling, in order to determine the effect of each of these factors on synapse formation in male- and female-derived cultures.

“The fact that we have identified molecular pathways present in males that are either absent or less prominent in females indicates that there may be much that researchers have missed in the area of synaptic development, simply because we weren’t looking separately at males and females,” Risher said.

Risher and his team continue to research the presence and impact of differences in cellular networks. Ultimately, findings from their work could help pave the way for sex-specific therapies for neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia, that present with strong sex biases in humans.

###

Media Contact
Sheanna Spence
[email protected]

Original Source

https://jcesom.marshall.edu/news/musom-news/non-neuronal-cells-drive-sex-differences-in-early-brain-development/

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0014-21.2021

Tags: BiologyCell Biologyneurobiology
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Perivascular Fluid Diffusivity Predicts Early Parkinson’s Decline

Perivascular Fluid Diffusivity Predicts Early Parkinson’s Decline

June 14, 2025
Rewrite Excitation-inhibition balance abnormally shapes structure–function coupling of gray matter in Parkinson’s disease as a headline for a science magazine post, using no more than 8 words

Rewrite Excitation-inhibition balance abnormally shapes structure–function coupling of gray matter in Parkinson’s disease as a headline for a science magazine post, using no more than 8 words

June 13, 2025

Rewrite Repurposing the memory-promoting meclofenoxate hydrochloride as a treatment for Parkinson’s disease through integrative multi-omics analysis as a headline for a science magazine post, using no more than 8 words

June 13, 2025

Rewrite Myelin–axon interface vulnerability in Alzheimer’s disease revealed by subcellular proteomics and imaging of human and mouse brain as a headline for a science magazine post, using no more than 8 words

June 13, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Green brake lights in the front could reduce accidents

    Study from TU Graz Reveals Front Brake Lights Could Drastically Diminish Road Accident Rates

    158 shares
    Share 63 Tweet 40
  • New Study Uncovers Unexpected Side Effects of High-Dose Radiation Therapy

    75 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
  • Pancreatic Cancer Vaccines Eradicate Disease in Preclinical Studies

    68 shares
    Share 27 Tweet 17
  • How Scientists Unraveled the Mystery Behind the Gigantic Size of Extinct Ground Sloths—and What Led to Their Demise

    65 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16

About

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

Follow us

Recent News

Urban Form Shapes Compound Natural Risk: US Study

Perivascular Fluid Diffusivity Predicts Early Parkinson’s Decline

Are Traditional Podcasters Becoming Obsolete? AI-Driven Podcasts Pave the Way for Accessible Science

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

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

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

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.