Astrocyte sensitivity to glymphatic shear stress is amplified by albumin and mediated by the interaction of sphingosine 1 phosphate with Piezo1

Astrocyte endfeet enwrap brain vasculature, forming a boundary for perivascular glymphatic flow of fluid and solutes along and across the astrocyte endfeet into the brain parenchyma. To determine whether astrocytes may sense and respond to the shear forces generated by glymphatic flow, we examined intracellular calcium (CA ²⁺ ) changes evoked in astrocytes to brief fluid flow applied in calibrated microfluidic chambers. Shear stresses < 20 dyn/cm ² failed to evoke CA ²⁺ responses in the absence of albumin, but cells responded to shear stress below 1 dyn/cm ² when as little as 5 μM albumin was present in flow medium. A role for extracellular matrix in mechanotransduction was indicated by reduced sensitivity after degradation of heparan sulfate proteoglycan. Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) amplified shear responses in the absence of albumin, whereas mechanosensitivity was attenuated by the S1P receptor blocker fingolimod. Piezo1 participated in the transduction as revealed by blockade by the spider toxin GsMTX and amplification by the chemical modulator Yoda1, even in absence of albumin or S1P. Our findings that astrocytes are exquisitely sensitive to shear stress and that sensitivity is greatly amplified by albumin concentrations encountered in normal and pathological CSF predict that perivascular astrocytes are responsive to glymphatic shear stress and that responsiveness is augmented by elevated CSF protein. S1P receptor signaling thus establishes a setpoint for Piezo1 activation that is finely tuned to coincide with albumin level in CSF and to the low shear forces resulting from glymphatic flow.

Graphical abstract: Astrocyte endfoot responds to glymphatic shear stress when albumin is present. Mechanism involves sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) binding to its receptor (S1PR), activating Phospholipase C (PLC) and thereby sensitizing the response of Piezo1 to flow. CA ²⁺ influx triggers CA ²⁺ release from intracellular stores and further downstream signaling, thereby modulating parenchymal perfusion. Illustration created using BioRender.com.