Thread: Glial Cells Survival

I understand that neurons can't survive without glial cells, but can glial cells survive without neurons?

Hello friends,

Glial cells in integrity and degeneration of the central nervous system has not been well elucidated, and accumulating evidence now suggests glial cells are critical to neuronal survival. In the developing central nervous system, astrocytes have been shown to guide correct migration and proliferation of neurons, whereas in the adult, astrocytes have been implicated in maintenance of neuronal homeostasis and synaptic plasticity (1, 2). Astrocytes have been demonstrated in vitro to possess receptors (3,4) as well as signaling molecules that can trigger neuronal messages are key to cell survival (5) or death (6). Examination of cell death has been primarily investigated using pure neuronal cell cultures; when in vivo studies are conducted, models of neurodegeneration have been evaluated mainly using neuronal death as sole index. Of note, mixed astrocyte-neuronal cultures that resemble in vivo condition appear to promote better neuronal survival than pure neuronal cultures.

Best advance
Stephen Jones