Bergmann Glia

A glia cell type of the human nervous system.

Specialized unipolar astrocytes of the cerebellum, with somata in the Purkinje cell layer and long radial processes spanning the molecular layer to the pia; they ensheath Purkinje-cell synapses, clear glutamate, and scaffold granule-cell migration.

Function

Specialized cerebellar astrocytes that ensheath Purkinje-cell synapses, clear synaptically released glutamate (high-density glutamate transporters), scaffold granule-cell migration, support cerebellar development, and regulate synaptic function. Their Ca2+-permeable AMPA receptors are required for proper glia-synapse relations.

Morphology

Unipolar; radial (palisade) processes

Specification

  • Receptors: Calcium-permeable AMPA receptors (GluA2-lacking); purinergic
  • Location: Purkinje cell layer (cerebellum)
  • Projections: Radial processes through the molecular layer terminating as endfeet at the pial surface
  • Firing: Non-spiking (electrically non-excitable)
  • Markers: SLC1A3/GLAST; GFAP; S100B; ALDH1L1; FABP7/BLBP; AQP4
  • Developmental origin: Cerebellar ventricular zone / radial glia (specialized radial astrocyte lineage)
  • Disease: Spinocerebellar / cerebellar ataxia; ischemia (reactive gliosis)
  • Cell Ontology: CL:0000644

References

  1. Iino M et al. (2001). Glia-synapse interaction through Ca2+-permeable AMPA receptors in Bergmann glia.. Science (New York, N.Y.) 292 PMID 11340205
  2. Buffo A & Rossi F (2013). Origin, lineage and function of cerebellar glia.. Progress in neurobiology 109 PMID 23981535

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