Where are oligodendrocytes located in the brain?
Oligodendrocytes are found only in the central nervous system, which comprises the brain and spinal cord….
| Oligodendrocyte | |
|---|---|
| Oligodendrocytes form the electrical insulation around the axons of CNS nerve cells. | |
| Details | |
| Location | Central nervous system |
| Identifiers |
What is the structure of oligodendrocytes?
Oligodendrocytes are supportive cells present in the central nervous system. These cells consist of a small body with radiating cellular processes. A small spherical nucleus is present in the cell body that also contains a small amount of cytoplasm.
How oligodendrocytes maintain their shape and space in brain?
Oligodendrocytes are metabolically active and functionally connected to the subjacent axon via cytoplasmic-rich myelinic channels for movement of macromolecules to and from the internodal periaxonal space under the myelin sheath.
What happens when oligodendrocytes are damaged?
Thus, neurotransmitter receptors play an important role in the normal life of oligodendrocytes. Furthermore, if oligodendrocytes become damaged and the myelin sheath is destroyed, the action potential is reduced in velocity or ceases altogether, leading to physical or mental disability.
What is the major role of the oligodendrocytes?
In the central nervous system (CNS), oligodendrocytes assemble myelin, a multilayered sheath of membrane, spirally wrapped around axonal segments and best known for its role in enabling fast saltatory impulse propagation1,2.
What are the main functions of oligodendrocytes?
oligodendrocyte, a type of neuroglia found in the central nervous system of invertebrates and vertebrates that functions to produce myelin, an insulating sheath on the axons of nerve fibres.
What disease affects oligodendrocytes?
Diseases affecting oligodendrocytes include those with genetic mutations, such as Pelizaeus–Merzbacher disease; immune-mediated diseases, such as multiple sclerosis; acute hemorrhagic leukoencephalitis; postinfectious encephalomyelitis; and viral infections, such as progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy.
Do oligodendrocytes regenerate?
Oligodendrocytes readily regenerate and replace myelin membranes around axons in the adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS) following injury. Remyelination ensures the maintenance of axonal conduction, and the oligodendrocytes themselves provide metabolic factors that are necessary to maintain neuronal integrity.
What do oligodendrocytes do in the brain?
Answer: Oligodendrocytes are glial cells that are best known for myelinating axons. They also participate in axonal maintenance, providing sustenance to the neurons. The brain consists of about 85 billion neurons with an estimated equal number of glial cells.
What is the difference between oligodendrocytes and microglia?
Oligodendrocytes— The oligodendrocyte is the analog of the Schwann cell in the central nervous system and is responsible for forming myelin sheaths around brain and spinal cord axons. Myelin is an electrical insulator. 3. Microglia—are the smallest of glial cells.
What is the difference between oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells?
Each oligodendrocyte is able to myelinate several nearby neurons. Schwann cells are similar in function to oligodendrocytes. Whereas oligodendrocytes act in the brain and spinal cord, Schwann cells act in the peripheral nervous system, and myelinate axons outside of the brain.
Where are oligodendrocytes found in the CNS?
Like other glia, oligodendrocytes are found throughout the CNS gray and white matter, where individual oligodendrocytes can myelinate as many as 40–50 axons. This important function enables rapid saltatory conduction throughout the CNS.