Baoman Li1 • Dianjun Zhang1 • Alexei Verkhratsky1,2,3

1 Department of Forensic Analytical Toxicology, School of Forensic Medicine, China Medical University, Shenyang 110122, China

2 Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK

3 Department of Stem Cell Biology, State Research Institute Centre for Innovative Medicine, 01102 Vilnius, Lithuania

Abstract

Although posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is on the rise, traumatic events and their consequences are often hidden or minimized by patients for reasons linked to PTSD itself. Traumatic experiences can be broadly classified into mental stress (MS) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), but the cellular mechanisms of MS- or TBI-induced PTSD remain unknown. Recent evidence has shown that the morphological remodeling of astrocytes accompanies and arguably contributes to fearful memories and stressrelated disorders. In this review, we summarize the roles of astrocytes in the pathogenesis of MS-PTSD and TBIPTSD. Astrocytes synthesize and secrete neurotrophic, proand anti-inflammatory factors and regulate the microenvironment of the nervous tissue through metabolic pathways, ionostatic control, and homeostatic clearance of neurotransmitters. Stress or trauma-associated impairment of these vital astrocytic functions contribute to the pathophysiological evolution of PTSD and may present therapeutic targets.

Keywords

Astrocytes; Traumatic brain injury; Traumatic events; Neurotrophic factors; Serotonin

[SpringerLink]