Abstract
Astrocytes maintain brain homeostasis and through the release of glio-transmitters can profoundly modulate neuronal signalling and plasticity (Stephen et al., 2014). Mitochondria are dynamic organelles essential for maintaining cell function, growth, and survival through generation of ATP and buffering intracellular calcium (Devine and Kittler 2018) and their activity-dependent positioning in astrocytes can tune calcium dynamics in astrocyte processes (Stephen et al 2015). Mitochondrial calcium uptake is mediated by the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) but its role for regulating calcium dynamics in astrocytes and the impact this has on neuronal signalling remains poorly defined, particularly in intact brain tissue.
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