Fig. 2
From: Dual roles of astrocytes in plasticity and reconstruction after traumatic brain injury
Schematic illustration of the glutamate-glutamine cycle in astrocytes. Astrocytes play a crucial role in the glutamate cycle of glutamate-glutamine. After the presynaptic membrane releases neurotransmitter glutamate, astrocytes can take in glutamate from the synaptic cleft through the glutamate receptor and synthesize glutamine with the catalysis of glutamine synthetase. And the glutamine can cross the cell membrane into the cytoplasm of presynaptic membrane and be deaminated by glutaminase to produce glutamate