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Information about Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cell

Oligodendrocyte precursor cells in nervous tissue cells precede oligodendrocytes, and may also be able to generate neurons and astrocytes. The principle function of oligodendrocytes is to provide support to axons and to produce the Myelin sheath, which insulates and lowers the effective capacitance of axons. Myelin is 80% lipid and 20% protein and speeds the conduction of action potentials down the axon. Oligodendrocytes unlike Schwann cells of the PNS, form segments of myelin sheaths of numerous neurons at once. The processes of a given oligodendrocyte wrap themselves around portions of the surrounding axons. As each process wraps itself around, it forms layers of myelin. Each process thus becomes a segment of the axon's myelin sheath.
Oligodendrocyte

General Information
Tissue type Nervous
Cell type Neuroglia
Location Central nervous system
Role Myelination
Identification Robertson, 1899
Ultrastructure
Soma size
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axon or nerve fiber, is a long, slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, that conducts electrical impulses away from the neuron's cell body or soma.

Anatomy


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Myelin is an electrically insulating phospholipid layer that surrounds the axons of many neurons. It is an outgrowth of glial cells: Schwann cells supply the myelin for peripheral neurons while oligodendrocytes supply it to those of the central nervous system.
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Lipids can be broadly defined as any fat-soluble (hydrophobic), naturally-occurring molecules. The term is more-specifically used to refer to fatty-acids and their derivatives (including tri-, di-, and monoglycerides and phospholipids) as well as other fat-soluble sterol-containing
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Proteins are large organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid residues.
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An action potential is a "spike" of electrical discharge that travels along the membrane of a cell. Action potentials are an essential feature of animal life, rapidly carrying information within and between tissues. They also occur in some plants.
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Named after the German physiologist Theodor Schwann, Schwann cells (also referred to as neurolemmocytes) are a variety of glial cell that mainly provide myelin insulation to axons in the peripheral nervous system of jawed vertebrates.
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PNS may refer to:
  • Parasympathetic nervous system
  • The Pensacola Regional Airport IATA airport code
  • Perceptual noise substitution, an audio encoding technique
  • Peripheral nervous system
  • Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

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Neurons (also known as neurones and nerve cells) are electrically excitable cells in the nervous system that process and transmit information. In vertebrate animals, neurons are the core components of the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves.
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