CDB Seminar - Dr Carole Escartin, Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience

Please join us for a CDB Seminar by Dr Carole Escartin, Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience

Astrocytes play crucial circuit-specific roles in regulating neuronal activity and synaptic plasticity across multiple timescales. Under pathological conditions, such as neurodegenerative diseases, astrocytes change and become reactive. Transcription factor-based pathways, such as the JAK-STAT3 and NF-kB pathways, are central in mediating these changes. We have developed viral vector-based tools to modulate reactive astrocytes in situ by targeting these cascades. We demonstrated that STAT3-dependent reactive astrocytes can have beneficial effects in models of Huntington’s disease, while they are mainly deleterious in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) models, through multiple changes in their interactions with vulnerable neurons. By using a novel approach to monitor astrocyte signaling in the mouse prefrontal cortex, we now reveal that these two transcription factors shape distinct subpopulations of astrocytes, defined by their signaling activity. These astrocyte subpopulations exhibit unique morphologies, molecular signatures, and functional profiles. Specific inhibition of these astrocyte subpopulations differentially impacts AD-related histological and behavioral alterations in a mouse model. Our findings emphasize the complex and specific roles played by astrocytes in neurodegenerative diseases.

Zoom: https://ucl.zoom.us/j/94092961221

Host: Patricia Salinas