Exploring and Mapping the World of Astrocytes

Abstract

Modern-day explorers use a variety of unique tools and equipment to climb unknown peaks and reveal new vistas to others. First ascent routes are named by the climbers and are described in the mountaineering and rock climbing journals, documenting the way for others to follow. Wilderness travel and neuroscience research attract pioneers like Leif Hertz, who enjoys the remote forests and mountains, as well as the unexplored areas of astrocytes, their physiology, biochemistry, signaling, energetics, neurotransmitter-related roles, and biological functions. Leif began his scientific career in the early 1960s with Professor Mogens Schou in Aarhus, Denmark, studying the influence of monovalent cations on respiration in brain slices. He quickly followed up this initial work with assays of the effects of K and Na on respiration in astrocytes acutely-dissected from adult brain under the auspices of Erik Zeuthen at the Carlsberg Laboratory, Copenhagen. Professor Holger Hyden, Goteborg, Sweden, was Leif’s spiritual mentor who provided inspiration and perspective in his early years. Most of Leif’s subsequent studies utilized primary cultures of astrocytes as a model system to evaluate properties of astrocytes. Astrocyte cultures were developed by Monique Sensenbrenner in Paul Mandel’s laboratory in Strasbourg, and collaborations between Leif and his wife Elna, who prepared almost all of the cultures for many years, led to many co-authored publications. An important underlying theme of Leif’s work throughout more than 50 years of research has been interactions between K uptake and energy metabolism in astrocytes, i.e., interfacing with neuronal activity. From this center, Leif’s interests have led in many directions, including the roles of astrocytes in glutamate, glutamine, and GABA metabolism (with Arne Schousboe) and the interactions of energy metabolism with neurotransmitter turnover and receptor activity in astrocytes. Leif’s work involved students, fellows, and many collaborating scientists, and his laboratory was supported for more than 20 years by the Medical Special Issue: In Honor of Dr. Leif Hertz.