Guest Editor: Aurel Popa-Wagner University of Medicine and Pharmacy Craiova, Romania.  Email: aurel.popa-wagner@geriatrics-healthyageing.com Website: https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/926051

Introduction

Glial cells are essential for brain functioning during development, aging and disease. However, the role of astroglia plays during brain development is quite different from that in the adult lesioned brain. Therefore, a deeper understanding of the pathomechanisms underlying astroglial activity in the aging brain and in cerebrovascular disease is essential to guide the development of new therapeutic strategies. To this end, this special issue compares the roles of astrocytes in development, aging, and neurodegenerative diseases, including cerebral ischemia. During fetal brain development, astrocytes and microglia often affect the same developmental processes such as neuro-/gliogenesis, angiogenesis, axonal outgrowth, synaptogenesis and synaptic pruning. In the adult brain astrocytes are a critical player in the synapse remodeling by mediating synapse elimination, while microglial activity has been associated with changes in synaptic plasticity and removal of cell debris by constantly sensing the environment. However, in the lesioned brain, astrocytes proliferate and play essential functions with regard to energy supply to the neurons, neurotransmission, and buildup of a protective scar isolating the lesion site from the surroundings. Inflammation, neurodegeneration or loss of brain homeostasis induce changes in microglial gene expression, morphology and function, generally referred to as “primed” microglia. These changes in gene expression are characterized by an enrichment of phagosome, lysosome, and antigen presentation signaling pathways and are associated with an upregulation of genes encoding cell surface receptors. In addition, primed microglia are characterized by upregulation of a network of genes in response to interferon gamma. A comparison of astroglial cells transcriptomic activity during brain development, aging, and neurodegenerative disorders may provide us with new therapeutic strategies with which to protect the aging brain and improve clinical outcomes.

Prof. Aurel Popa-Wagner
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.antpublisher.com through the online submission system. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, Review articles as well as Therapeutic Brief are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. APT is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by ANT.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. Considering limited grants for some researchers, Dr. Xiang Xie and the editorial office made the decision that Article Processing Charges will be fully exempted, which means that there are NOT any manuscript processing or publication fees for your article once accepted after standard peer-review.

Submission Deadline

August 31st, 2025

Participants

Contacts