Sonic Hedgehog and Astrocytes
During our introductory neuroscience courses, we’re taught that the brain has very poor healing capabilities following an injury. This has always stuck with me because of how terrifying it sounds—if something happens to your brain, it’s pretty much goodbye to that part of the brain. Putting this harrowing thought aside, new research has shown that astrocytes, star-shaped neurons, are of a greater adaptability and plasticity than what was originally believed, playing an important role in healing the brain following an injury.
A study performed at McGill University revealed that following an injury, surrounding neurons can adjust astrocytes in a way similar to the turning of a dial, changing the function and capabilities of the astrocyte. The Researchers used Bergmann glia, a type of astrocyte, and Purkinje cells, a neuron that secretes a protein referred to as Sonic Hedgehog, to study these effects. They found that the release of this specially named protein induces significant changes in astrocytes that promote healing.
This discovery is significant for two reasons: firstly, we believed the brain to have very poor recovery capabilities and secondly, we formerly believed that neuronal cells were hardwired during development to perform a single, specific function. Both of these are wrong. Not only does this study show that astrocytes are quite active in neural healing, but it also shows that they are not limited to one specific function, and can adapt to whatever the environment demands based on the Sonic Hedgehog signaling pathway.
On a personal level these findings are exciting because maybe it means I don’t need to be as paranoid about getting a head injury. Sonic the Hedgehog is on my side if anything bad goes wrong up there.
~Jackie Rocheleau
Sources:
A Key Mechanism that Could Improve Brain Function
Neurons Diversify Astrocytes in the Adult Brain Through Sonic Hedgehog Signaling
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