Astrocytes and mural cells in the retina: Normal development and pathophysiology

供应大脑和视网膜神经细胞的血管与被称为壁细胞和星形胶质细胞的支持细胞有关。星形胶质细胞既能确保血管不渗漏，又能产生诱导血管生长的因子，而壁细胞则能控制血流，并被认为能促进血管的稳定性。我们的目标是描述星形胶质细胞和壁细胞的发育，以及这些细胞与影响血管形状、生长和损失的血管的相互作用。衰老与中枢神经系统脉管系统的变化有关，这种变化使人易患某些疾病，如由血液供应异常和随之而来的神经细胞死亡引起的痴呆。我们计划研究星形胶质细胞和壁细胞对伴随衰老的血管变化的贡献。这些研究可能会导致干预措施的发展，以防止这种变化及其相关的病理。最后，星形胶质细胞变性与各种神经病理状况有关，包括痴呆、阿尔茨海默病和创伤。我们的目标是纯化和表征星形胶质前体细胞群，其移植可能导致中枢神经系统受损区域的再生。

The blood vessels that supply the nerve cells of the brain and retina are associated with support cells known as mural cells and astrocytes. Whereas astrocytes both ensure that the vessels do not leak and produce factors that induce vessel growth, mural cells control blood flow and are thought to promote vessel stability. We aim to characterise the development of astrocytes and mural cells as well as the interactions of these cells with blood vessels that influence vessel shape, growth, and loss. Aging is associated with changes in the vasculature of the central nervous system that confer a predisposition to certain conditions, such as dementia, caused by abnormal blood supply and consequent nerve cell death. We plan to investigate the contribution of astrocytes and mural cells to the vascular changes that accompany aging. These studies may lead to the development of interventions to prevent such changes and their associated pathologies. Finally, astrocyte degeneration is implicated in various neuropathological conditions, including dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and trauma. We aim to purify and characterise a population of astrocyte precursor cells whose transplantation might result in the repopulation of damaged regions of the central nervous system.