Overview

Glia, the non-neuronal cells in the nervous systems, are both passive and active participants in diverse arrays of neuronal function. The diversity of glial cells in various animal species appears to be correlated with the complexity of brains. In the animal Drosophila melanogaster, glia are similarly categorized to their mammalian counterparts in morphology and function. Surface glia cover the outermost surface of the brain and function as a blood-brain-barrier to protect the nervous system. Cortex glia, similar to mammalian astrocytes, enwrap around the neuronal cell bodies and provide trophic support. Neuropil glia, similar to mammalian astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, are closely associated with the synapse-enriched neuropils and regulate synapse formation, synaptic function, and underlie the mechanism of circuit and behavior. This short monograph focuses on Drosophila glia, discusses the classification of different glial subtypes and their developmental origins, and provides an overview of different glial-mediated activity crucial for the development and function of the nervous system. This context serves as a general introduction to the molecular and cellular basis of glial function in normal and pathological brains.

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9781615047970

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ShanghaiTech University ShanghaiTech University Margaret S. Ho received her B.A. in Molecular and Cellular Biology & Biochemistry from the University of California at Berkeley, CA, and her Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Harvard University. She was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Academica Sinica Institute of Molecular Biology in Taiwan and then joined the faculty of Tongji University School of Medicine in Shanghai, China. In 2017, Margaret became Associate Professor and PI at ShanghaiTech School of Life Sciences and Technology, where the Ho lab uses Drosophila as a model system to investigate the mechanisms of nervous system development and function, particularly in glial cells. Bearing resemblance in many ways to mammalian glia, Drosophila glia are comprised of a variety of morphological classes and exhibit similar functions to their mammalian counterparts. Glial cells are the most abundant cell types in the nervous system, and participate in virtually all aspects of brain function. Dysfunction in glial cells causes serious and significant pathology that leads to multiple brain diseases. Previous work from the Ho laboratory elucidated a distinct pathway, ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation, that regulates embryonic glial cell development. Extending from this work, the Ho lab is now interested in topics including 1. Neuronalglia interaction and its physiological relevance in neuronal development and synaptic function, and 2. Glial cell function in behavior, and its implications for neurodegenerative diseases.

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