Andrea Volterra

TL;DR: The recent recognition that astrocytes are organized in separate territories and possess active properties — notably a competence for the regulated release of 'gliotransmitters', including glutamate — has enabled us to develop an understanding of previously unknown functions for astroCytes.

TL;DR: It is shown that coactivation of the AMPA/kainate and metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) on astrocytes stimulates these cells to release glutamate through a Ca2+-dependent process mediated by prostaglandins, revealing a new pathway of regulated transmitter release from astroCytes and outlining the existence of an integrated glutamatergic cross-talk between neurons and astroicytes in situ.

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that altered glial communication has direct neuropathological consequences and that agents interfering with CXCR4-dependent astrocyte–microglia signaling prevent neuronal apoptosis induced by the HIV-1 coat glycoprotein, gp120IIIB.

TL;DR: It is proposed that astrocytes mainly signal through high-affinity slowly desensitizing receptors to modulate neurons and perform integration in spatiotemporal domains complementary to those of neurons.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors point out the shortcomings of binary divisions of reactive astrocytes into good-vs-bad, neurotoxic vs-neuroprotective or A1-vs.A2.