Chandrani Chakraborty

TL;DR: A novel role for astrocytes in mediating synapse elimination in the developing and adult brain is revealed, MEGF10 and MERTK are identified as critical proteins in the synapse remodelling underlying neural circuit refinement, and have important implications for understanding learning and memory as well as neurological disease processes.

TL;DR: The aging-induced up-regulation of reactive astrocytes genes was significantly reduced in mice lacking the microglial-secreted cytokines known to induce A1 reactiveAstrocyte formation, indicating that microglia promote astroCyte activation in aging.

TL;DR: The neuronal thrombospondin receptor involved in CNS synapse formation is identified as alpha2delta-1, the receptor for the anti-epileptic and analgesic drug gabapentin and suggested that gapapentin may function therapeutically by blocking new synapses formation.

TL;DR: Glypicans is identified as a family of novel astrocyte-derived molecules that are necessary and sufficient to promote glutamate receptor clustering and receptivity and to induce the formation of postsynaptically functioning CNS synapses.

TL;DR: It is found that hevin is required for the structural maturation of the retinocollicular synapses and signifies that, through regulation of relative levels of hevin and SPARC, astrocytes might control the formation, maturation, and plasticity of synapses in vivo.