Astrocytes at the Hub of the Stress Response: Potential Modulation of Neurogenesis by miRNAs in Astrocyte-Derived Exosomes

Figure 1

Blood-borne soluble factors reach astrocytes in the neurogenic niche, thus triggering the release of exosomes. In physiological conditions, the content of their cargo may exert a positive modulatory effect over one or more neurogenic stages (e.g., enhancing proliferation, and differentiation). During pathological conditions such as chronic stress, astrocytes respond to blood-borne soluble factors (e.g., corticosteroids and cytokines) by releasing exosomes with a cargo that may have a negative modulatory influence over one or more neurogenic stages. Astrocytes may in turn communicate with each other through gap junctions and/or by exosomal release. This may partly explain the decrease in differentiation and proliferation observed under such conditions. Note that the exosomal content under pathological or physiological conditions may differ in terms of the identity of the molecules (e.g., different types of miRNAs or proteins) and/or in their overall quantity. GCL: granule cell layer; SGZ: subgranular zone; NPSC: neural stem/precursor cell.