The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology
Cells in focusGlial cells
Section snippets
Introduction: the main glial types
Two main cell types build the nervous system. These are neurones, which are directly involved in electrical transmission and information processing, and glial cells. In all parts of the nervous system, glial cells outnumber neurones by some margin, and they make up a large part of nervous tissue. For instance, glial cells occupy about half the volume of the brain. These cells carry out many indispensable functions, both in development and during the normal function of the mature system (Jessen
Development
The glial cells and neurones of the CNS develop from neural precursor cells of a germinal layer called the ventricular zone, that lines the lumen of the developing spinal cord and the ventricles of the brain. Oligodendrocyte development is better understood in the spinal cord than in the brain. In the cord, oligodendrocytes appear to originate from a tightly restricted area of the ventricular zone in a process that depends on the transcription factors Olig 1 and 2 and the signalling molecule
Guidance
In the developing brain, neurones are often formed at what in cellular terms is a very long way from their final site of residence. Development therefore involves a remarkable amount of neuronal migration, a process in which glial cells play a major role. This has probably been studied most thoroughly in the cerebral cortex and the cerebellum. Here, the radial glial cells mentioned before act as indispensable scaffolds for extensive neuronal migration, involving astrotactin and neuregulin-1
Multiple sclerosis (MS)
This is perhaps the most widely recognised disease associated with glial cells (Lucchinetti & Lassmann, 2001). Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive disease with a significant immune involvement that primarily affects oligodendrocytes. It is characterised by the formation of multiple lesions in the CNS in which myelin is destroyed and oligodendrocytes die. Axons are also adversely affected. The causes of MS are not well understood and effective treatment remains to be developed.
Type 1 Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease (CMT)
CMT is a
Acknowledgements
The work described in this article that was done by the author was supported by grants from the Wellcome Trust and the MRC. I thank Rhona Mirsky and Ashwin Woodhoo for commenting on the manuscript.
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