ABSTRACT
Brain development and activity depend on coordinated functional interactions between glial cells and neurons. In addition to being a target for sex steroids, glial cells are also involved in their metabolism and participate in the organizational and activational effects of sex steroids on synapse formation and synaptic plasticity. The chapter reviews evidence for the sex hormone regulation of astroglial development and function. It discusses the role of astroglia in the interaction of sex hormones and growth factors. Several studies have shown that testosterone and estradiol promote astroglia differentiation and growth of astroglia processes in vitro and regulate the expression of the specific astrocytic marker glial fibrillary acidic protein. Studies conducted in the rat hypothalamic arcuate nucleus indicate that astroglia are involved in synaptic effects of gonadal hormones. In addition to the organizational effect of gonadal steroids, estrogen promotes synaptic plasticity in the arcuate nucleus.
