Astroglial cells in development, regeneration, and repair

Three main cellular components have been described in the CNS: neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. In the past 10 years, lineage studies first based on retroviruses in the embryonic CNS and then by genetic fate mapping in both the prenatal and postnatal CNS have proposed that astroglial cells can be progenitors for neurons and oligodendrocytes. Hence, the population of astroglial cells is increasingly recognized as heterogeneous and diverse, encompassing cell types performing widely different roles in development and plasticity. Astroglial cells populating the neurogenic niches increase their proliferation after perinatal injury and in young mice can differentiate into neurons and oligodendrocytes that migrate to the cerebral cortex, replacing the cells that are lost. Although much remains to be learned about this process, it appears that the up-regulation of the Fibroblast growth factor receptor is critical for mediating the injury-induced increase in cell division and perhaps for the neuronal differentiation of astroglial cells.