Astrocytes are predominant glial cells that tile the central nervous system (CNS). A cardinal feature of astrocytes is their complex and visually enchanting morphology, referred to as bushy, spongy, and star-like. A central precept of this review is that such complex morphological shapes evolved to allow astrocytes to contact and signal with diverse cells at a range of distances in order to sample, regulate, and contribute to the extracellular milieu, and thus participate widely in cell–cell signaling during physiology and disease. The recent use of improved imaging methods and cell-specific molecular evaluations has revealed new information on the structural organization and molecular underpinnings of astrocyte morphology, the mechanisms of astrocyte morphogenesis, and the contributions to disease states of reduced morphology. These insights have reignited interest in astrocyte morphological complexity as a cornerstone of fundamental glial biology and as a critical substrate for multicellular spatial and physiological interactions in the CNS.

星形胶质细胞是中枢神经系统（CNS）的主要神经胶质细胞。星形胶质细胞的一个主要特征是其复杂且视觉上迷人的形态，被称为浓密、海绵状和星状。本综述的一个中心原则是，这种复杂的形态形状的进化使得星形胶质细胞能够在一定距离内与不同的细胞接触并发出信号，以便采样、调节和促进细胞外环境，从而广泛参与细胞间环境生理和疾病期间的信号传导。最近使用改进的成像方法和细胞特异性分子评估揭示了关于星形胶质细胞形态的结构组织和分子基础、星形胶质细胞形态发生的机制以及形态减少对疾病状态的贡献的新信息。这些见解重新激发了人们对星形胶质细胞形态复杂性的兴趣，星形胶质细胞是基本神经胶质生物学的基石，也是中枢神经系统中多细胞空间和生理相互作用的关键基质。