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My name is Robert Zorec.
I'm from Ljubljana.
Today I will talk about
exocytosis in astrocytes.
0:11
I would like to
highlight that this is a
follow up of a previous lecture
on the properties
of exocytosis in
astrocytes that was
recorded in 2014.
Let me tell you that
our lab is studying
pathophysiology at the
subcellular level,
including vesicles.
That actually brings
us to the topic
that, in fact, our
aim is to translate.
So, we want to gain
knowledge of studying
membrane fusion and
vesicle dynamics,
and then the gain results we
hope to be employed in
translating this to medicines.
In the field of cancer,
we have already developed
a lysosomal heterologous
fusion cell-based
immunotherapy to treat cancer.
This therapy is already
available and it is
approved in Slovenia,
and this was done after
following a clinical trial.
In the domain of
neurological indications,
we would like to understand
vesicle-based signaling and
metabolism in astrocytes,
which is then a platform
from which we'd like to
develop small molecules that
target neuroglial aerobic
glycolosis to be used in
treating various disorders,
including neurodegeneration
and neurodevelopment.
This is the foreground
for the lecture today.
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The first message is
that like in neurons,
calcium-dependent exocytosis
exists in astrocytes,
it is controlled by SNARE
proteins and cholesterol,
but is very very slow.
Astrocytes act as
signal integrators and
adaptation to regulate
homeostatic processes
in a slow time domain,
as is the case in the
endocrine system,
brings us to the term:
the gliocrine system.
So, astrocytes are part of
this very slow
regulating system,
hence called the
gliocrine system.
Astrocytes secrete
neurotransmitters and
a wide array of neuromodulators,
hormones, metabolic, trophic,
and plastic factors.
The release of these
gliosignals from astrocytes
occurs through distinct pathways
that include diffusion,
plasmalemmal channels,
translocation by
multiple transporters and
vesicle-based
regulated exocytosis.
That is the topic of
our lecture today.
These vesicles in astrocytes
are of different sizes.
At the end, I'd like
to highlight that
lysosomal vesicle traffic is
altered in reactive astrocytes.
