Glial cells have been identified more than 100 years ago, and are known to play a key role in the central nervous system (CNS) function. A recent piece of evidence is emerging showing that in addition to the capacity of CNS modulation and homeostasis, glial cells are also being looked like as a promising cell source not only to study CNS pathologies initiation and progression but also to the establishment and development of new therapeutic strategies. Thus, in the present review, we will discuss the current evidence regarding glial cells’ contribution to neurodegenerative diseases as Parkinson’s disease, providing cellular, molecular, functional, and behavioral data supporting its active role in disease initiation, progression, and treatment. As so, considering their functional relevance, glial cells may be important to the understanding of the underlying mechanisms regarding neuronal-glial networks in neurodegeneration/regeneration processes, which may open new research opportunities for their future use as a target or treatment in human clinical trials.

神经胶质细胞早在 100 多年前就已被发现，并且在中枢神经系统 (CNS) 功能中发挥着关键作用。最近出现的一项证据表明，除了中枢神经系统调节和稳态的能力之外，神经胶质细胞也被视为一种有前途的细胞来源，不仅可以研究中枢神经系统病理学的启动和进展，还可以用于新细胞的建立和开发。治疗策略。因此，在本综述中，我们将讨论有关神经胶质细胞对帕金森病等神经退行性疾病的贡献的当前证据，提供支持其在疾病发生、进展和治疗中积极作用的细胞、分子、功能和行为数据。因此，考虑到神经胶质细胞的功能相关性，对于理解神经变性/再生过程中神经元-神经胶质网络的潜在机制可能很重要，这可能为其未来在人类临床试验中用作靶标或治疗开辟新的研究机会。