From Neurocentre Magendie – Inserm U1215

will give a seminar entitled :

Astroglial regulation of NMDA receptors

Astroglial cells are considered the housekeepers of the brain since they ensure the clearance of toxic substances that accumulate during neuronal activity and provide neurons with the appropriate energy supply and trophic factors. Beside these well-known functions, astrocytes also participate actively to synaptic transmission. Astroglial cells respond to synaptic activity through intracellular Ca2+ signaling, thereby triggering the release of active substances known as gliotransmitters. Such gliotransmitters act in a second to minutes time scale on neighboring neurons to regulate excitabiity. During this seminar, I would review the work carried out in my group on astroglial D-serine, an endogenous co-agonist of NMDA receptors (NMDAR). Through the supply of this D-amino acid, astrocytes regulate NMDAR activity including the most common forms of long-term synaptic plasticity in the brain. Such a regulation highlights the importance of astrocytes for physiological processes like learning and memory but also for neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders in which NMDAR have been shown to play a key role

https://www.bordeaux-neurocampus.fr/