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Function and therapeutic value of astrocytes in neurological diseases
Lee HG, Wheeler MA, Quintana FJ.. Nature reviews. Drug discovery, 2022-02-16
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Astrocytes are abundant glial cells in the central nervous system (CNS) that perform diverse functions in health and disease. Astrocyte dysfunction is found in numerous diseases, including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, Huntington disease and neuropsychiatric disorders. Astrocytes regulate glutamate and ion homeostasis, cholesterol and sphingolipid metabolism and respond to environmental factors, all of which have been implicated in neurological diseases.
Key findings
- Astrocyte dysfunction is found in numerous diseases, including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, Huntington disease and neuropsychiatric disorders.
- Astrocytes regulate glutamate and ion homeostasis, cholesterol and sphingolipid metabolism and respond to environmental factors, all of which have been implicated in neurological diseases.
- Astrocytes also exhibit significant heterogeneity, driven by developmental programmes and stimulus-specific cellular responses controlled by CNS location, cell-cell interactions and other mechanisms.
- In this Review, we highlight general mechanisms of astrocyte regulation and their potential as therapeutic targets, including drugs that alter astrocyte metabolism, and therapies that target transporters and receptors on astrocytes.
Why it matters
This review describes astrocyte dysfunction in Alzheimer disease and other conditions, and notes that astrocytes regulate glutamate, ion, cholesterol and sphingolipid balance. It is a review of astrocyte biology and reports no treatment, cure or prevention.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 55/100
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 (Nature reviews. Drug discovery) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Nature Reviews Drug Discovery: journal h-index 479 (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 | 3 / 5 | 2022 — within 6 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 651 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 108.5 citations a year over 6 year(s) since 2022 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 21.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 3 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 516 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Francisco Javier Quintana: h-index 93 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 35173313) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 55 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1038/s41573-022-00390-x
- PubMed: 35173313
- Original source →
- Free full text: Repositorio Institucional (Pontificia Universidad Javeriana) →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Lee, H. G., Wheeler, M. A., & Quintana, F. J. (2022). Function and therapeutic value of astrocytes in neurological diseases. Nature reviews. Drug discovery. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41573-022-00390-x
Vancouver
Lee HG, Wheeler MA, Quintana FJ. Function and therapeutic value of astrocytes in neurological diseases. Nature reviews. Drug discovery. 2022. doi:10.1038/s41573-022-00390-x. PMID: 35173313.
BibTeX
@article{lee2022-35173313,
author = {Lee, H. G. and Wheeler, M. A. and Quintana, F. J.},
title = {{Function and therapeutic value of astrocytes in neurological diseases}},
journal = {Nature reviews. Drug discovery},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.1038/s41573-022-00390-x},
pmid = {35173313},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41573-022-00390-x}
}
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