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Review
. 2021 Aug 11:15:726479.
doi: 10.3389/fncel.2021.726479. eCollection 2021.

Astrocyte Heterogeneity in Multiple Sclerosis: Current Understanding and Technical Challenges

Chih Hung Lo  1 , Mario Skarica  2 , Mohammad Mansoor  1 , Shaan Bhandarkar  1 , Steven Toro  1 , David Pitt  1
Affiliations
Review

Astrocyte Heterogeneity in Multiple Sclerosis: Current Understanding and Technical Challenges

Chih Hung Lo et al. Front Cell Neurosci. .

Abstract

The emergence of single cell technologies provides the opportunity to characterize complex immune/central nervous system cell assemblies in multiple sclerosis (MS) and to study their cell population structures, network activation and dynamics at unprecedented depths. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of astrocyte subpopulations in MS tissue and discuss the challenges associated with resolving astrocyte heterogeneity with single-nucleus RNA-sequencing (snRNA-seq). We further discuss multiplexed imaging techniques as tools for defining population clusters within a spatial context. Finally, we will provide an outlook on how these technologies may aid in answering unresolved questions in MS, such as the glial phenotypes that drive MS progression and/or neuropathological differences between different clinical MS subtypes.

Keywords: astrocytes; experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis; multiple sclerosis; multiplexed imaging; single nucleus sequencing.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Schematic of strengths/weaknesses of single cell technologies and data output.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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