Sribas Chowdhury, Adamas University, Kolkata
Scientists at the University of Basel reported two newly discovered glial cells that can revolutionize our understanding of brain functions. The human brain is very complex and the way it functions is even more complicated. So far, we don’t even know exactly how much we have an understanding of the working of the human brain. For decades, researchers have been trying to understand how our neural pathways work together to properly monitor our activities. Although significant discoveries have been made so far, we still are not even halfway towards a full understanding of the human brain.
The human brain mainly consists of two types of cells: neurons or nerve cells and glial cells. The neurons are responsible for relaying information and signals throughout the different parts of the brain. Now, while there’s an elaborate understanding of how neurons work, little is known about glial cells. So far, their role as the supporting cells of the neurons is only well understood, although they were speculated to have other functions as well. The recent study made it clear that the glial cells are much more important than what researchers have speculated.
The findings of the recent study:
The study was carried out by the research group of Dr. Fiona Doetsch at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel and was focused on examining stem cells in the ventricular-subventricular zone of an adult mouse’s brain. Stem cells present in the adult brain are capable of generating new nerve cells. In their study, the team found out that there is an activation switch that acts as a receptor to keep stem cells inactivated (called quiescent state).
They were able to switch it off with the help of a molecular signal and activate the stem cells to generate neurons. To their surprise, they found out that some of the stem cells didn’t develop into neurons, rather developed into two types of newly discovered glial cells. Thus, the region of the brain studied was termed as the birthplace of glial cells and developing grounds of neurons. What was even more unexpected was that one glial cell type was found to be associated with a region that deals with senses and long-range signals, thereby indicating the type having a role in sensing signals.
The researchers also found out that the newly discovered glial cells can also be activated in a brain that had demyelinated neurons. They concluded that these new types of glial cells may help in the repair of neurodegenerative disorders like sclerosis or after injury. Doetsch is hopeful that they will be able to trace these new types and identify their function in neurocognitive abilities. This can open up new possibilities to understanding brain plasticity and repair neural tissue damages.
Also read: Alzheimer’s-like dementia due to Covid
Reference:
- Ana c. Delgado, Angel R. Maldonado-soto, Violeta Silva-vargas, Dogukan Mizrak, Thomas Von Känel, Kelly R. Tan, Alex Paul, Aviv Madar, Henar Cuervo, Jan Kitajewski, Chyuan-Sheng Lin, Fiona Doetsch. (2021). Release of stem cells from quiescence reveals gliogenic domains in the adult mouse brain. Science: Vol. 372, Issue 6547, pp. 1205-1209. DOI: 10.1126/science.abg8467
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