Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.
NEUROSCIENCE: Unwrapping Glial Cells from the Synapse: What Lies Inside?
Vittorio Gallo and Ramesh Chittajallu*
Glial cells comprise most of the mass of the brain, yet their functions are only starting to be defined. In their Perspective, Gallo and Chittajallu synthesize two papers in this week's issue (Iino et al and Oliet et al.) that add several items to glias's list of known tasks. Bergmann glia of the cerebellum are necessary for maintenance of the synapse between Purkinje cells and the climbing fibers. Similarly, reduced clearance of glutamate from a synapse in the supraoptic nucleus activates an inhibitory glutamate receptor more than usual, increasing synaptic inhibition.
The authors are in the Laboratory of Cellular and Synaptic Neurophysiology, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-4495, USA. E-mail: vgallo{at}helix.nih.gov and ramesh{at}codon.nih.gov
The editors suggest the following Related Resources on Science sites:
In Science Magazine
REPORTS
Stéphane H. R. Oliet, Richard Piet, and Dominique A. Poulain (4 May 2001) Science292 (5518), 923.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.1059162] |Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
REPORTS
Masae Iino, Kaori Goto, Wataru Kakegawa, Haruo Okado, Makoto Sudo, Shogo Ishiuchi, Akiko Miwa, Yukihiro Takayasu, Izumu Saito, Keisuke Tsuzuki, and Seiji Ozawa (4 May 2001) Science292 (5518), 926.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.1058827] |Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »|Supplemental Data »
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Glial expression of Borna disease virus phosphoprotein induces behavioral and neurological abnormalities in transgenic mice.
W. Kamitani, E. Ono, S. Yoshino, T. Kobayashi, S. Taharaguchi, B.-J. Lee, M. Yamashita, T. Kobayashi, M. Okamoto, H. Taniyama, et al. (2003)
PNAS
100, 8969-8974
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
Insights into glutamate transport regulation in human astrocytes: Cloning of the promoter for excitatory amino acid transporter 2 (EAAT2).
Z.-z. Su, M. Leszczyniecka, D.-c. Kang, D. Sarkar, W. Chao, D. J. Volsky, and P. B. Fisher (2003)
PNAS
100, 1955-1960
|Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
