Nature· Junsung Woo·· 19 hours agoPickScore87
CD51 delineates functionally distinct astrocyte subtypes in neural circuits
In brief
A research team established CD51-FLP mice and companion AAV tools, showing that CD51+ and CD51− astrocytes differ in development, molecular expression and neural circuit function. In developing cortex, CD51+ cells are enriched for synapse-formation genes; chemogenetic stimulation increases excitatory and inhibitory synapses, and Gpc6 knockout eliminates the increase in excitatory synapse formation.
Why it matters
The CD51-FLP mouse line and AAV tools allow separate in vivo manipulation and direct functional comparison of CD51+ and CD51− astrocytes.
Source: Nature