FIGURE 2.

Glial cells are characterized by great heterogeneity. Besides their multiple morphological phenotypes, they present with an impressive variety of functions, both in health and disease. New technologies are progressively allowing us to acquire increasingly in-depth insights into these varied glial profiles. In particular, single-cell genetic analyses have in recent years opened up a new range of possibilities in this regard. They have indeed revealed the existence of different glial subsets, defined on a genetic basis. Moreover, studies carried out considering different variables, such as age, brain regions, healthy or diseased state, have added further facets to the already intricate picture of the diverse glial subtypes. The field of alpha-synucleinopathies will also greatly benefit from studies of this kind in the near future, creating the possibility for novel, targeted therapeutic approaches. Also the microglia-astroglia crosstalk has been recently confirmed as an important way by which glial cells can mutually influence the respective activation profiles and responses to pathology. This might offer another therapeutic target to assess in future studies.