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Membrane properties of glial cells in the central nervous system
Chvatal A, Sykova E.
Department of Neuroscience, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Videnska 1083, 14220 4, Prague, Czech Republic
Systematic study of the electrophysiological properties of glial
cells, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, began during the ‘60s, when their
possible role in the buffering of K+, which accumulates in the extracellular
space of the central nervous system (CNS) during neuronal activity, was
first formulated. Even though glial cells and neurons develop from the
same type of precursor cell, they have distinct electrophysiological properties,
which are determined by the presence of transport proteins, i.e. by different
types of ionic channels and transporters in the cell membrane. It was suggested
that transport proteins in glial cells play an important role in various
processes in normal nervous tissue, during development as well as during
pathological states. Activation of ionic channels and transporters in glial
cells takes place during the maintenance of ionic homeostasis, during the
regulation of metabolism and the release of hormones, and during communication
with surrounding cells. As a result of ionic shifts, the cell volume of
glial cells changes, affecting the size and geometry of the extracellular
space. Glial cells thus play an important role in the maintenance of specialized
functions within the CNS.
