Genetic model developed to study the role of astrocytes in neurodegeneration

Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (MA, USA) have successfully utilized a genetic fruit fly model of Alexander disease, a rare neurodegenerative disease known to affect astrocytes, to study the role of the star-shaped cells in neurodegeneration. While damage to astrocytes has previously been identified in many neurodegenerative diseases, the precise role of astrocytes in neurodegeneration has remained unclear. Utilizing the fruit fly model, the team identified nitric oxide as one of the key mediators involved in neuronal cell death. The results were then confirmed in a mouse model, and evidence of the same key mediator was also confirmed in...