Astrocyte (IMAGE)

Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Astrocyte

Caption

New details about how motor neurons die in ALS have been uncovered by a new cell-culture system that combines spinal cord or brain cells from ALS patients with human motor neurons. The culture system shows that patient astrocytes (shown here with a blue-stained nucleus) release a toxin that kills motor neurons via a recently discovered process described as a "controlled cellular explosion."

Credit

Diane Re, Columbia University Medical Center

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