Glial scar brain and spinal cord. FGF2 has also been shown to increase astrocyte proliferation "in vitro". Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) is a cytosolic protein that is not secreted. CNTF has been shown to promote the survival of neuronal cultures "in vitro", and it can also act as a differentiator and trophic factor on glial cells. Further, CNTF has been previously shown to affect the differentiation of glial precursor cells "in vitro"; however, the influence of CNTF in the "in vivo" setting has only recently been determined. Winter "et al." used CNTF over-expressing transgenic mice as well as wildtype controls that had
Radial glial cell astrocytes, they have also been called "specialized astrocytes." Bergmann glia have multiple radial processes that extend across the molecular layer of the cerebral cortex and terminate at the pial surface as a bulbous endfoot. Bergmann glial cells assist with the migration of granule cells, guiding the small neurons from the external granular layer to the internal granular layer of the cerebral cortex along their extensive radial processes. Besides their role in early development of the cerebellum, Bergmann glia are also required for synaptic pruning. Following Purkinje cell death induced by CNS injury, Bergmann glia undergo extensive proliferative changes so as