ASTROCYTES: BIOLOGY AND FUNCTION IN THE BRAIN

Astrocytes, also known as astroglia, are characteristic star-shaped glial cells in the brain and spinal cord. They are involved in the regulation of synaptic activity, plasticity, neurotransmitter homeostasis and extracellular ion balance, having a crucial role in neural network and cognitive functions. Alteration of astrocytic functionality resulting from the combination of loss of normal homeostasis-maintaining functions and acquisition of toxic functions, proved to be a key mechanism in a series of CNS neurodegenerative pathologies such as huntington's disease, alzheimer's, parkinson's, prion diseases, epilepsy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, etc. Advances in transdifferentiation technology have opened up the possibility of directly inducing non-neuronal cells, such as astrocytes, to transform them into neuronal cells, both in vitro and in vivo.