Reactive astrocytes are astrocytes undergoing morphological, molecular, and functional
remodeling in response to injury, disease, or infection of the CNS. Although this remodeling was …

Glia make up most of the cells in the brain, yet until recently they were believed to have only
a passive, supporting role. It is now becoming increasingly clear that these cells have other …

Astrocytes, the most abundant glial cells in the mammalian brain, are critical regulators of
brain development and physiology through dynamic and often bidirectional interactions with …

Glia constitute roughly half of the cells of the central nervous system (CNS) but were long-considered
to be static bystanders to its formation and function. Here we provide an overview …

In the developing central nervous system (CNS), the control of synapse number and function
is critical to the formation of neural circuits. We previously demonstrated that astrocyte-…

In the developing brain, immature synapses contain calcium-permeable AMPA glutamate
receptors (AMPARs) that are subsequently replaced with GluA2-containing calcium-…

During development, the formation of mature neural circuits requires the selective elimination
of inappropriate synaptic connections. Here we show that C1q, the initiating protein in the …

Synapses are asymmetric cellular adhesions that are critical for nervous system development
and function, but the mechanisms that induce their formation are not well understood. We …

Astrocytes, through their close associations with synapses, can monitor and alter synaptic
function, thus actively controlling synaptic transmission in the adult brain. Besides their …

Astrocytes regulate synaptic connectivity in the CNS through secreted signals. Here we
identified two astrocyte-secreted proteins, hevin and SPARC, as regulators of excitatory …