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Transporters and Channels in Cytotoxic Astrocyte Swelling

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Abstract

Brain edema is a severe clinical complication in a number of pathologies and is a major cause of increased morbidity and death. The swelling of astrocytes caused by a disruption of water and ion homeostasis, is the primary event contributing to the cytotoxic form of brain edema. Astrocyte cytotoxic swelling ultimately leads to transcapillary fluxes of ions and water into the brain parenchyma. This review focuses on the implication of transporters and channels in cytotoxic astrocyte swelling in hyponatremia, ischemia, trauma and hepatic encephalopathy. Emphasis is put on some salient features of the astrocyte physiology, all related to cell swelling, i.e. predominance of aquaporins, control of K+ homeostasis and ammonia accumulation during the brain ammonia-detoxifying process.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico (DGAPA), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) [grant number IN203410], and Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT) [grant number 98952].

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  1. División de Neurociencias, Instituto de Fisiología Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico

    Herminia Pasantes-Morales & Erika Vázquez-Juárez

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  1. Herminia Pasantes-Morales
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  2. Erika Vázquez-Juárez
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Correspondence to Herminia Pasantes-Morales.

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Special Issue: In honor of Leif Hertz.

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Pasantes-Morales, H., Vázquez-Juárez, E. Transporters and Channels in Cytotoxic Astrocyte Swelling. Neurochem Res 37, 2379–2387 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-012-0777-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-012-0777-2

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