Revisiting Functional Heterogeneity of Microglia and Astroglia

Neuroglia is an important component of the nervous system, whose role in the brain has recently been actively revisited. In addition to maintaining homeostasis of the central nervous system, glial cells are involved in the pathogenesis of multiple brain diseases, which makes their further study highly relevant translationally. With the development of novel research methods, data on a greater heterogeneity of glial cells are becoming available, calling for revision of the existing classifications of microglia and astroglia, as some of them do not fit into the current binary paradigm. Here, we discuss cross-taxon features of microglial and astrocytic cells in mammals and zebrafish, and recent data on glia in normal and pathological conditions, which may form the basis for new systematics of neuroglia and, eventually, can help identify novel therapeutic targets.