Glial Factors Regulating White Matter Development and Pathologies of the Cerebellum

Miren Revuelta,Thomas Schmitz,Li-Jin Chew,Till Scheuer

doi:10.1007/s11064-020-02961-z

Miren Revuelta, Thomas Schmitz + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-020-02961-z

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Abstract

The cerebellum is a brain region that undergoes extremely dynamic growth during perinatal and postnatal development which is regulated by the proper interaction between glial cells and neurons with a complex concert of growth factors, chemokines, cytokines, neurotransmitters and transcriptions factors. The relevance of cerebellar functions for not only motor performance but also for cognition, emotion, memory and attention is increasingly being recognized and acknowledged. Since perturbed circuitry of cerebro-cerebellar trajectories can play a role in many central nervous system pathologies and thereby contribute to neurological symptoms in distinct neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases, is it the aim with this mini-review to highlight the pathways of glia–glia interplay being involved. The designs of future treatment strategies may hence be targeted to molecular pathways also playing a role in development and disease of the cerebellum.

Highlights

The involvement of the cerebellum in higher processes of cognition and emotion [1, 2] and its relevance as a locus for a range of disorders and diseases make this simple yet elusive structure an important model in a number of fields
The protection of cerebellar white matter development by minocycline was associated with improved platelet derived growth factor (PDGF)-A expression in vivo and in astrocyte cultures in vitro, underlining a role for astroglial PDGF-A both in injury and protection in the cerebellum
Woo et al [137] suggested that the manipulation of the levels of astrocytic tonic GABA in the cerebellum and in particular, in Bergmann glial cell, modulates neuronal excitability and synaptic transmission in the cerebellum

Summary

Introduction

The involvement of the cerebellum in higher processes of cognition and emotion [1, 2] and its relevance as a locus for a range of disorders and diseases make this simple yet elusive structure an important model in a number of fields. In the developing and in the adult brain, it has been described that the function of glial cells can influence and regulate neuronal activity [53]. Impairment of one factor relevant to neuron–glia crosstalk may lead to dysregulation of multiple signaling pathways between neurons and glial cells, disrupting development of the cerebellum in multiple ways.

Results

Conclusion