AUTHOR=Charron Giselle, Doudnikoff Evelyne, Canron Marie-Helene, Li Qin, Véga Céline, Marais Sebastien, Baufreton Jérôme, Vital Anne, Oliet Stéphane H. R., Bezard Erwan TITLE=Astrocytosis in parkinsonism: considering tripartite striatal synapses in physiopathology? JOURNAL=Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience VOLUME=6 YEAR=2014 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2014.00258 DOI=10.3389/fnagi.2014.00258 ISSN=1663-4365 ABSTRACT=The current concept of basal ganglia organization and function in physiological and pathophysiological conditions excludes the most numerous cells in the brain, i.e., the astrocytes, present with a ratio of 10:1 neuron. Their role in neurodegenerative condition such as Parkinson’s disease (PD) remains to be elucidated. Before embarking into physiological investigations of the yet-to-be-identified “tripartite” synapses in the basal ganglia in general and the striatum in particular, we therefore characterized anatomically the PD-related modifications in astrocytic morphology, the changes in astrocytic network connections and the consequences on the spatial relationship between astrocytic processes and asymmetric synapses in normal and PD-like conditions in experimental and human PD. Our results unravel a dramatic regulation of striatal astrocytosis supporting the hypothesis of a key role in (dys) regulating corticostriatal transmission. Astrocytes and their various properties might thus represent a therapeutic target in PD.