Experimental evidence suggests that activated microglia induce astrocyte reactivity in neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this study, we investigated the association between microglial activation and amyloid-β (Aβ) with reactive astrogliosis in individuals across the AD spectrum. We examined 101 individuals using positron emission tomography radiotracers to assess Aβ deposition ([18F]AZD4694), tau aggregation ([18F]MK-6240) and microglial activation ([11C]PBR28), along with plasma biomarkers for astrocyte reactivity (GFAP) and tau phosphorylation (p-tau217). We further evaluated 251 individuals with cerebrospinal fluid levels of the microglial marker sTREM2. We found that Aβ pathology was associated with astrocyte reactivity across cortical brain regions only in the presence of microglial activation. The microglia-dependent effects of Aβ on astrocyte reactivity were further related to cognitive impairment through tau phosphorylation and aggregation. Our r

Zamboni et al. reveal how enhancers encode cell-type-specific responses to CNS injury. By combining multiomic profiling, deep learning and in vivo screening, they uncover injury-responsive enhancer lo...

This Perspective explores causal machine learning in single-cell genomics, addressing challenges such as generalization, interpretability and cell dynamics, while highlighting advances and the potenti...

Dimakou et al.’s review examines how spontaneous brain activity across species from C. elegans to humans encodes behaviorally relevant sensory, motor, metabolic, and interoceptive states. They hypothe...

Nature Medicine - Changes to the female brain during menopause, together with social and cultural factors, might affect disease risk.

Vicario et al. detected microglial mosaicism in histiocytosis patients, predominantly in the rhombencephalon gray nuclei and associated with astrocytosis, neuronal loss, and neurological symptoms in p...

White matter (WM) astrocytes differ significantly from gray matter astrocytes, with WM astrocytes in the forebrain exhibiting unique proliferation capacity, which is absent in cerebellar WM, suggestin...

White matter (WM) astrocytes differ significantly from gray matter astrocytes, with WM astrocytes in the forebrain exhibiting unique proliferation capacity, which is absent in cerebellar WM, suggestin...

Hasel et al. show that molecularly and morphologically specialized astrocytes make up the brain and spinal cord surface, thereby creating the glia limitans superficialis. These astrocytes selectively ...

Normal aging alters brain functions and phenotypes. However, it is not well understood how astrocytes are impacted by aging, nor how they contribute to neuronal dysfunction and disease risk as organis...

Neuron–glia interactions play a vital role in brain development, influencing processes like neuronal differentiation, synapse development, and myelination. In the mature brain, glial cells maintain h...

This study shows that cerebellar Bergmann glia process noxious stimuli by integrating signals from the locus coeruleus. This mechanism modulates pain-related behaviors. These findings provide insight ...

Nature Neuroscience - Prenatal stress effects on the placenta

Macnair and Calini et al. analyze 632,000 snRNA-seq profiles from multiple sclerosis and control brain samples, identifying distinct cellular responses in white and gray matter. They stratify MS patie...

Rhobo6 is a cell-impermeable small-molecule fluorophore that displays reversible fluorogenic binding to glycans, making it a general, wash-free, and non-perturbative label for the extracellular matrix...