GoKawiilStudy identifies CD51 as marker for distinct astrocyte subtypes in mouse brain circuits
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine engineered a suite of transgenic mice and viral constructs, including a new CD51-FLP line generated through BAC transgenesis, to label and manipulate specific astrocyte populations. Using these tools, combined with chemogenetic activation (hM3Dq/CNO) and conditional gene deletion (Nfia-flox), they showed that astrocytes expressing the surface protein CD51 form a functionally and molecularly distinct subset within neural circuits.