Astrocytes are specialized and the most abundant cell type in the central nervous system
(CNS). They play important roles in the physiology of the brain. Astrocytes are also critically …

Of all the chemical elements, oxygen is the most vital to the human body. The brain is the
most sensitive organ to oxygen deprivation (hypoxia), which, over an extended period, can …

Cerebral microvessels have a unique ultrastructure form, which allows for the close
relationship of the endothelium and blood elements to the neurons they serve, via …

Though the ischemic penumbra has been classically described on the basis of blood flow
and physiologic parameters, a variety of ischemic penumbras can be described in molecular …

Tau is a microtubule-binding protein expressed in neurons, and the equal ratios between 4-
repeat (4R) and 3-repeat (3R) isoforms are maintained in normal adult brain function …

Metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptors have been considered as potential targets for
neuroprotective drugs, but the lack of specific drugs has limited the development of …

The role of intracellular proteases (eg, calpains and caspases) in the pathophysiology of
neuronal cell death has been extensively investigated. More recently, accumulating data …

Transforming growth factor betas (TGF-βs) are known as multifunctional growth factors,
which participate in the regulation of key events of development, disease and tissue repair …

Protease-activated receptors (PARs) are G protein-coupled receptors that regulate the
cellular response to extracellular serine proteases, like thrombin, trypsin, and tryptase. The …

Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) has been characterized as an injury-related factor,
based on the observation that it is strongly up-regulated in many acute or chronic central …