Glial cells prevail in number and in diversity of cellular phenotypes in the nervous system. They have also gained prominence due to their multiple physiological and pathophysiological roles. Our current knowledge of the asymmetry and heterogeneity of the plasma membrane demands an in depth analysis of the diverse array of membrane microdomains postulated to exist in the context of glial cells. This review focuses and analyzes the studies reported to date on the detection of caveolae membrane rafts and the caveolin family members in glial cell model systems, the conditions leading to changes in their level of expression, and their functional and clinical significance. Outstanding in this work emerge the ubiquitous expression of caveolins, including the typically regarded 'muscle-specific' cav3, in diverse glial cell model systems, their participation in reactive astrogliosis, cancer, and their key relevance to calcium signaling. The knowledge obtained to date demands incorporation of the caveolins and caveolae membrane rafts in our current models on the role of glial cells in heath and neurological disease. The relative abundance of glia parallels their increasingly evident roles in nervous system physiology and pathophysiology. The diversity in functional roles of glia relates to the main different types of glia: the myelinating oligodendrocytes (OL) and Schwann cells (SC), the fibrous (white matter) and protoplasmic (gray matter) astrocytes, perivascular astrocytes, radial glia, and the mesodermally derived microglia, which are key players in nervous system inflammatory responses. Astrocytes are known to participate in nutrient transport, ionic homeostasis, mechanical support, synaptic plasticity, and blood-brain barrier integrity (Hansson and Ronnback 2003). Astrocyte activation, known as reactive astrogliosis, ensues during pathophysiological processes such as injury, trauma, ischemia, stroke, neurodegenerative disorders, aging, and brain tumor formation. Depending on the type of insult, extent and time point astrocytes may exert opposite cytoprotective or cytotoxic actions (Fellin and Carmignoto 2004).Paramount to the understanding of the functional roles of glia in the nervous system is the recognition of plasmalemma lipid heterogeneity, asymmetry, and distinct membrane microdomains. This review focuses on the caveolae (CAV) membrane microdomain, and its constituent or marker proteins the caveolins. The present review addresses the studies performed in glial cell model systems in the following areas: ultrastructural analysis of CAV, detection of caveolin1 (cav1) and 2, the expression of the 'muscleAddress correspondence and reprint requests to Dr Walter I. Silva, Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico, PO Box 365067, San Juan 00936-5067, Puerto Rico. E-mail: wsilva@rcm.upr.edu 1 Membrane rafts are small (10-200 nm), heterogeneous, highly dynamic, and sterol-and sphingolipid-enriched domains that compartmentalize cellular processes. Small rafts can sometimes be stabi...
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.