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Astrocytes: Role and Functions in Brain Pathologies
Siracusa R, Fusco R, Cuzzocrea S.. Frontiers in pharmacology, 2019-09-27
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Astrocytes are a population of cells with distinctive morphological and functional characteristics that differ within specific areas of the brain. Postnatally, astrocyte progenitors migrate to reach their brain area and related properties. They have a regulatory role of brain functions that are implicated in neurogenesis and synaptogenesis, controlling blood-brain barrier permeability and maintaining extracellular homeostasis. Mature astrocytes also express some genes enriched in cell progenitors, suggesting they can retain proliferative potential. Considering heterogeneity of cell population, it is not surprising that their disorders are related to a wide range of different neuro-pathologies. Brain diseases are characterized by the active inflammatory state of the astrocytes, which is usually described as up-regulation of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). In particular, the loss of astrocytes function as a result of cellular senescence could have implications for the neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer disease and Huntington disease, and for the aging brain. Astrocytes can also drive the induction and the progression of the inflammatory state due to their Ca 2+ signals and that it is strongly related to the disease severity/state. Moreover, they contribute to the altered neuronal activity in several frontal cortex pathologies such as ischemic stroke and epilepsy. There, we describe the current knowledge pertaining to astrocytes' role in brain pathologies and discuss the possibilities to target them as approach toward pharmacological therapies for neuro-pathologies.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Siracusa, R., Fusco, R., & Cuzzocrea, S. (2019). Astrocytes: Role and Functions in Brain Pathologies. Frontiers in pharmacology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2019.01114
Vancouver
Siracusa R, Fusco R, Cuzzocrea S. Astrocytes: Role and Functions in Brain Pathologies. Frontiers in pharmacology. 2019. doi:10.3389/fphar.2019.01114. PMID: 31611796.
BibTeX
@article{siracusa2019-31611796,
author = {Siracusa, R. and Fusco, R. and Cuzzocrea, S.},
title = {{Astrocytes: Role and Functions in Brain Pathologies}},
journal = {Frontiers in pharmacology},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.3389/fphar.2019.01114},
pmid = {31611796},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2019.01114}
}
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Key findings
- In particular, the loss of astrocytes function as a result of cellular senescence could have implications for the neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer disease and Huntington disease, and for the aging brain.
Why it matters
This review proposes that loss of astrocyte function through cellular senescence could have implications for neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and for the aging brain. It is a discussion of cell biology and does not report a treatment, cure or prevention.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 50/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Frontiers in pharmacology) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Frontiers in Pharmacology: journal h-index 242 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2019 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 341 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 37.9 citations a year over 9 year(s) since 2019 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 14.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 4 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 127 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Salvatore Cuzzocrea: h-index 109 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Saint Louis University: institution h-index 567 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 31611796) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 50 / 100 | — |
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