Astrocytes play crucial roles in the brain and are involved in the neuroinflammatory response. They become reactive in response to virtually all pathological situations in the brain such as axotomy, ischemia, infection, and neurodegenerative diseases (ND). Astrocyte reactivity was originally characterized by morphological changes (hypertrophy, remodeling of processes) and the overexpression of the intermediate filament glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). However, it is unclear how the normal supportive functions of astrocytes are altered by their reactive state. In ND, in which neuronal dysfunction and astrocyte reactivity take place over several years or decades, the issue is even more complex and highly debated, with several conflicting reports published recently. In this review, we discuss studies addressing the contribution of reactive astrocytes to ND. We describe the molecular triggers leading to astrocyte reactivity during ND, examine how some key astrocyte functions may be enhanced or altered during the disease process, and discuss how astrocyte reactivity may globally affect ND progression. Finally we will consider the anticipated developments in this important field. With this review, we aim to show that the detailed study of reactive astrocytes may open new perspectives for ND.

Astrocyte reactivity is a hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases (ND), but its effects on disease outcomes remain highly debated. Elucidation of the signaling cascades inducing reactivity in astrocytes during ND would help characterize the function of these cells and identify novel molecular targets to modulate disease progression. The Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (JAK/STAT3) pathway is associated with reactive astrocytes in models of acute injury, but it is unknown whether this pathway is directly responsible for astrocyte reactivity in progressive pathological conditions such as ND. In this study, we examined whether the JAK/STAT3 pathway promotes astrocyte reactivity in several animal models of ND. The JAK/STAT3 pathway was activated in reactive astrocytes in two transgenic mouse models of Alzheimer's disease and in a mouse and a nonhuman primate lentiviral vector-based model of Huntington's disease (HD). To determine whether this cascade was instrumental for astrocyte reactivity, we used a lentiviral vector that specifically targets astrocytesin vivoto overexpress the endogenous inhibitor of the JAK/STAT3 pathway [suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3)]. SOCS3 significantly inhibited this pathway in astrocytes, prevented astrocyte reactivity, and decreased microglial activation in models of both diseases. Inhibition of the JAK/STAT3 pathway within reactive astrocytes also increased the number of huntingtin aggregates, a neuropathological hallmark of HD, but did not influence neuronal death. Our data demonstrate that the JAK/STAT3 pathway is a common mediator of astrocyte reactivity that is highly conserved between disease states, species, and brain regions. This universal signaling cascade represents a potent target to study the role of reactive astrocytes in ND.

Astrocytes and microglia become reactive under most brain pathological conditions, making this neuroinflammation process a surrogate marker of neuronal dysfunction. Neuroinflammation is associated with increased levels of translocator protein 18 kDa (TSPO) and binding sites for TSPO ligands. Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of TSPO is thus commonly used to monitor neuroinflammation in preclinical and clinical studies. It is widely considered that TSPO PET signal reveals reactive microglia, although a few studies suggested a potential contribution of reactive astrocytes. Because astrocytes and microglia play very different roles, it is crucial to determine whether reactive astrocytes can also overexpress TSPO and yield to a detectable TSPO PET signalin vivo. We used a model of selective astrocyte activation through lentiviral gene transfer of the cytokine ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) into the rat striatum, in the absence of neurodegeneration. CNTF induced an extensive activation of astrocytes, which overexpressed GFAP and become hypertrophic, whereas microglia displayed minimal increase in reactive markers. Two TSPO radioligands, [¹⁸F]DPA-714 [N,N-diethyl-2-(2-(4-(2-[¹⁸F]fluoroethoxy)phenyl)-5,7-dimethylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-3-yl)acetamide] and [¹¹C]SSR180575 (7-chloro-N,N-dimethyl-5-[¹¹C]methyl-4-oxo-3-phenyl-3,5-dihydro-4H-pyridazino[4,5-b]indole-1-acetamide), showed a significant binding in the lenti-CNTF-injected striatum that was saturated and displaced by PK11195 [N-methyl-N-(1-methylpropyl)-1-(2-chlorophenyl)-isoquinoline-3-carboxamide]. The volume of radioligand binding matched the GFAP immunopositive volume. TSPO mRNA levels were significantly increased, and TSPO protein was overexpressed by CNTF-activated astrocytes. We show that reactive astrocytes overexpress TSPO, yielding to a significant and selective binding of TSPO radioligands. Therefore, caution must be used when interpreting TSPO PET imaging in animals or patients because reactive astrocytes can contribute to the signal in addition to reactive microglia.