Nature Communications (Jun 2017)
Reactive astrocytes function as phagocytes after brain ischemia via ABCA1-mediated pathway
Abstract
Astrocytic phagocytosis has been shown to play a role in synaptic pruning during development, but whether adult astrocytes possess phagocytic ability is unclear. Here the authors show that following brain ischemia, reactive astrocytes become phagocytic and engulf debris via the ABCA1 pathway.