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Astrocytes (green) in the context of neurons (red) in a mouse cortex cell culture 23-week-old fetal brain culture human astrocyte Astrocytes (red-yellow) among neurons (green) in the living cerebral cortex. Astrocytes are a sub-type of glial cells in the central nervous system. They are also known as astrocytic glial cells.
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a clear, colorless body fluid found within the tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord of all vertebrates. CSF is produced by specialized ependymal cells in the choroid plexus of the ventricles of the brain, and absorbed in the arachnoid granulations. In humans, there is about 125 mL of CSF at any one time ...
Although the exact mechanism is not completely understood, astrocytes are known to facilitate changes in blood flow [9] [10] and have long been thought to play a role in waste removal in the brain. [11] Researchers have long known that astrocytes express water channels called aquaporins. [12]
They scan the central nervous system, and establish contacts with neurons, astrocytes and blood vessels. Exhibiting a high degree of motility, they migrate to the lesion site and demonstrate a potent phagocytic capacity for the clearance of debris and the elimination of pathogens. Ramified microglia in a rat cortex before traumatic brain injury.
The choroid plexus regulates the production and composition of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), that provides the protective buoyancy for the brain. [2] [10] CSF acts as a medium for the glymphatic filtration system that facilitates the removal of metabolic waste from the brain, and the exchange of biomolecules and xenobiotics into and out of the brain.
The astrocytes of the glia limitans are responsible for separating the brain into two primary compartments. The first compartment is the immune-privileged brain and spinal cord parenchyma. This compartment contains multiple immunosuppressive cell surface proteins such as CD200 and CD95L and it allows for the release of anti-inflammatory factors.
Aquaporin-4's overall function is to provide fast water transportation as well as maintain homeostatic balance within the central nervous system. This channel can transport water up to speeds of 3E9 molecules per second. [7] It is the primary water channel protein that reconciles the homeostasis of water in the CNS. [6]
It had been known since the early 1900s that astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglia make up the major glial cell populations in the mammalian CNS. The presence of another glial cell population had escaped recognition because of the lack of a suitable marker to identify them in tissue sections.