Health | Science | Neuroscience
Pro-Inflammatory Molecule Linked to Bipolar Disorder
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) secreted by astrocytes in the brain may contribute to defects associated with bipolar disorder.
In the March 4th issue of the journal Stem Cell Reports, researchers from The Salk Institute for Biological Studies report that astrocyte-mediated inflammatory signaling may play a role in bipolar disorder.
Astrocytes are specialized glial cells in the brain that outnumber neurons by over 5 to 1. They are critical for supporting neuronal function by regulating a litany of processes, including energy balance, lipid processing, synapse maintenance and elimination, and homeostasis of ions, neurotransmitters, and second messenger molecules. Astrocytes are also immunocompetent cells that are activated by pro-inflammatory cytokines and, in turn, secrete cytokines that participate in the process of neuroinflammation.
“Due to a growing understanding of the role of neuroinflammation in psychiatric disorders, we wondered whether altered inflammation-driven signaling in astrocytes was associated with bipolar disorder,” said co-senior author Renata Santos, Ph.D., of Salk and the Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Paris.
