Transplanted immature astroglia can secrete growth factors and provide extracellular substrates that are absent in the fibrotic lesion but that are required to support new neural circuit formation.
In addition, the long-term effects of ovariectomy (at 6 or 22 months after surgery) include age-dependent changes in the morphology of hippocampal astroglia and microglia, suggestive of neuroinflammation and neuroplasticity [90].
VEGF-B was not detectable in quiescent astroglia in SOD1 mice, but its expression became prominent in activated astrocytes thought to maintain survival of motor neurons after injury [31].