Author/Editor		Verkhratsky, Alexei; Zorec, Robert
Title		Secretory astrocytes
Type		članek
Source		In: Neurosecretion : secretory mechanisms Cham : Springer nature
Publication year		2020
Volume		str. 127-160
Language		eng
Abstract		Astrocytes, a type of neuroglia, are heterogeneous cells, forming (together with oligodendrocytes and microglia) the gliocrine system, involved in maintaining homoeostatic balance in the brain. Gliocrine neuroglia operate as a secretory network which provides for humoural signalling in the brain and in the spinal cord. In this chapter, we first describe astroglial functions in health and disease and focus on the mechanisms of cytoplasmic ionic excitability. Then, we discuss responses of astroglia to pathological states and introduce the gliocrine secretory mechanisms and molecules released from astrocytes. Finally, we describe the physiology of vesicle-based secretion and conclude that vesicular mechanisms, previously considered to be an exclusive property of neurons in the brain, play an elaborated role in astroglial (patho)physiology, thus representing a basis for development of new neurological therapies aimed at astrocytes.
Keywords		astrociti eksocitoza ionska ekscitabilnost astrocytes exocytosis ionic excitability