Glia (neuroglia, glial)

• The nervous systems of vertebrates and most invertebrates include not only neurons but also glial cells, or glia.
▪ Neuroglia cells make up about half (50%) the volume and cells of the CNS while the most abundant neurons are
interneurons.
▪ Their name derives from the idea of early histologists that they were the “glue” that held nervous tissue together.
o The nervous tissue is made up of cells.
❖ If these cells have the same structure and function, they are named simple tissue.
❖ If these cells have different structures and functions, they are named complex tissue.
❖ The nervous tissue is a complex tissue because it is made up of two different cells neurons and neuroglia cells.
▪ Neuroglia is smaller than neurons, and they are 5 to 25 times more numerous.
▪ In contrast to neurons, glia does not generate or propagate action potentials, but they can multiply and divide in the mature
nervous system in contrast to neurons.
▪ In cases of injury or disease, neuroglia multiply to fill in the spaces formerly occupied by neurons.
▪ Brain tumors (cancer) derived from glia, called gliomas, tend to be highly malignant and to grow rapidly.
o Occurs because of the rapid division of glia cells.
▪ In the CNS (brain) there is a replacement of neurons with new neurons using stem cells such as astrocytes

Types of neuroglia cells; There are six types of neuroglia.

Found only in the CNS (4)
▪ Neuroglia of the CNS can be classified on the basis of size, cytoplasmic processes, and intracellular organization into four
types of Astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, microglia, and ependymal cells.
Present in the PNS (2)
▪ Schwann cells and satellite cells

Neuroglia of the CNS

Astrocytes:
These star shaped cells have many processes and are the largest and most numerous of the neuroglia.
There are two types of astrocytes:

▪ Fibrous astrocytes are present in white matter

▪ Protoplasmic astrocytes are present in grey matter
The processes of astrocytes make contact with blood capillaries, neurons, and the pia mater (a thin membrane around the brain
and spinal cord).
The functions of astrocytes include the following:
1. Astrocytes contain great number of microfilaments and microtubules that give them considerable strength, which enables
them to support neurons.
2. Processes of astrocytes wrapped around blood capillaries isolate neurons of the CNS from various potentially harmful
substances in blood (such as urea) by secreting chemicals that maintain the unique selective permeability characteristics of
the endothelial cells of the capillaries.
▪ In effect, the endothelial cells create a blood–brain barrier, which restricts the movement of substances between the
blood and interstitial fluid of the CNS.
▪ Astrocytes also help increase the diameter of the blood capillaries (dilation) which increase the blood flow which is loaded
with oxygen and nutrients (digested food)
3. In the embryo, astrocytes secrete chemicals that appear to regulate the growth, migration, and interconnection among
neurons in the brain.
4. Astrocytes help to maintain the appropriate chemical environment for the generation of nerve impulses.
▪ For example, they regulate the concentration of important ions such as K+; regulate neurotransmitters by taking up excess
neurotransmitters or produce neurotransmitters if there is a shortage of it; and serve as a conduit for the passage of
nutrients and other substances between blood capillaries and neurons.
5. Astrocytes may also play a role in learning and memory by influencing the formation of neural synapses.
Oligodendrocyte:
• These resemble astrocytes but are smaller and contain fewer processes.
• Oligodendrocyte processes are responsible for forming and maintaining the myelin sheath around CNS axons.
• The myelin sheath is a multilayered lipid and protein (lipoprotein) covering around some axons that insulates them and
increases the speed of nerve impulse conduction. Such axons are said to be myelinated.
• A single oligodendrocyte myelinates several axons.
Microglia:
• These neuroglia are small cells with slender processes that give off numerous spines like projections.
• Microglia function as phagocytes. Like tissue macrophages, they remove cellular debris formed during normal
development of the nervous system and phagocytize microbes and damaged nervous tissue.
Ependymal cells:
• Ependymal cells are cuboidal to columnar cells arranged in a single layer that possess microvilli and cilia.
• These cells line the ventricles of the brain and central canal of the spinal cord (spaces filled with cerebrospinal fluid, which
protects and nourishes the brain and spinal cord).
• Functionally, ependymal cells produce, possibly monitor, and assist in the circulation of cerebrospinal fluid.
• They also form the blood–cerebrospinal fluid barrier.
Neuroglia of the PNS
• Neuroglia of the PNS completely surround axons and cell bodies.
• The two types of glial cells in the PNS are Schwann cells and satellite cells.
Schwann cells:
• These cells encircle PNS axons.
• Like oligodendrocytes, they form the myelin sheath around axons.
• However, a single oligodendrocyte myelinates several axons, but each Schwann cell myelinates a single axon.
• There is an exception: A single Schwann cell can also enclose as many as 20 or more unmyelinated axons (axons that lack a
myelin sheath).
• Schwann cells participate in axon regeneration in PNS, which is more easily accomplished in the PNS than in the
CNS.
Satellite cells:
• These flat cells surround the cell bodies of neurons of PNS ganglia.
• Besides providing structural support, satellite cells regulate the exchanges of materials (such as neurotransmitters and
ions) between neuronal cell bodies and interstitial fluid (extracellular).
• The glia present throughout the vertebrate brain and spinal cord carry out functions crucial for the activity of the nervous
system. (as shown in the figure). illustrates the major types of glia in the adult nervous system and provides an overview of
the ways in which: They nourish, support, and regulate the functioning of neurons.

• In embryos, two types of glia play essential roles in the development of the nervous system: radial glia and astrocytes.
▪ radial glia form tracks along which newly formed neurons migrate from the neural tube, the structure that gives rise to the
CNS.
▪ Later, astrocytes induce cells that line the capillaries in the CNS to form tight junctions.
▪ The result is the blood-brain barrier, which controls the extracellular environment of the CNS by restricting the entry of
most substances from the blood.
• Both radial glia and astrocytes can also act as stem cells in neurogenesis parts, generating new neurons and glia (in
the CNS in certain divisions in the brain). Researchers view these multipotent precursors as a potential means for
replacing neurons and glia that are lost to injury or disease.