A new study led by Dr. Carmen Falcone from the Fisher College of Science and Mathematics has been accepted for publication in Science Advances, a high-impact, peer-reviewed journal, highlighting a significant advance in understanding brain disease. As corresponding author and principal investigator, Falcone led a team that included multiple student researchers and international collaborators.

The paper, titled “Varicose projection astrocytes: conserved reactive cells in brain pathology,” challenges long-standing assumptions about a unique class of brain cells known as varicose projection astrocytes. Previously believed to exist only in humans and closely related primates, the study demonstrates that these cells are, in fact, present across a range of mammalian species.

Using four distinct, human-based disease models, the researchers show for the first time that these astrocytes are induced by neuroinflammation and exhibit features associated with cellular stress. Importantly, their abundance increases with aging and in the context of human neurological disease.

The findings suggest that varicose projection astrocytes are not a normal cell type, as once thought, but instead represent a reactive and direct response to neuropathological conditions. This discovery reframes how scientists understand astrocyte diversity and their role in brain disorders, potentially opening new avenues for research into neurodegenerative disease mechanisms and therapeutic targets.

Read the full paper here: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ady8204.