Recent studies suggest that glial cells play an impor-tant role in nervous system. Like astrocytes in the central nervous system,satellite glial cells( SGCs) also participate in the physio-logical and pathological processes of the peripheral nervous sys-tem. SGCs affect neuronal functions through neuro-glial interac-tions. In this review,we summarize the current understanding of how SGCs affect the function of neurons.

Objective To explore the difference of sleep quality and the influencing factors in ketamine dependent subjects and methamphetamine dependent subjects.Methods 60 ketamine dependent subjects and 60 methamphetamine dependent subjects with Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI),self-rating depression scale (SDS),self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) were tested.Results Methamphetamine dependent subjects was significantly more likely to elicit poor sleep quality than ketamine dependent subjects (P =0.022).The sleep quality of ketamine dependent subjects had a positive correlation with anxiety(P =0.015),depression(P =0.038),the onset age (P =0.029),and the dose of ketamine use in the last three months (P =0.048),while the sleep quality of methamphetamine dependent subjects had a positive correlation with the total time of ketamine use (P =0.038),anxiety (P =0.041),the dose of ketamine use in the last three months (P =0.011).Conclusion Methamphetamine dependent subjects are prone to a more serious poor sleep quality than ketamine dependent subjects.

Congenital hydrocephalus is a major neurological disorder with high rates of morbidity and mortality; however, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown. Reproducible animal models mirroring both embryonic and postnatal hydrocephalus are also limited. Here, we describe a new mouse model of congenital hydrocephalus through knockout of β-catenin in Nkx2.1-expressing regional neural progenitors. Progressive ventriculomegaly and an enlarged brain were consistently observed in knockout mice from embryonic day 12.5 through to adulthood. Transcriptome profiling revealed severe dysfunctions in progenitor maintenance in the ventricular zone and therefore in cilium biogenesis after β-catenin knockout. Histological analyses also revealed an aberrant neuronal layout in both the ventral and dorsal telencephalon in hydrocephalic mice at both embryonic and postnatal stages. Thus, knockout of β-catenin in regional neural progenitors leads to congenital hydrocephalus and provides a reproducible animal model for studying pathological changes and developing therapeutic interventions for this devastating disease.
Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Hydrocephalus/genetics* ; Mice ; Mice, Knockout ; Neurons ; beta Catenin/genetics*