/ English Dictionary |
ASTROCYTE
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Comparatively large neuroglial cell
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("astrocyte" is a kind of...):
glial cell; neurogliacyte; neuroglial cell (a cell of the neuroglia)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "astrocyte"):
fibrous astrocyte (star-shaped cells with long processes; found in the white matter of the brain and spinal cord)
protoplasmic astrocyte (a kind of astrocyte found in the grey matter)
Holonyms ("astrocyte" is a part of...):
astroglia; macroglia (tissue consisting of large stellate neuroglial cells)
Derivation:
astrocytic (of or relating to or containing large star-shaped cells in the neuroglia)
Context examples:
A WHO grade I large cystic tumor that occurs almost exclusively in infants, with a prominent desmoplastic stroma having a neuroepithelial population consisting mainly of neoplastic astrocytes.
(Desmoplastic Infantile Astrocytoma, NCI Thesaurus/Adapted from WHO)
The astrocytes' job is to prune unnecessary synapses (connections) in the brain to refresh and reshape its wiring.
(Lack of Sleep Makes Brain to Literally Eat Itself, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
A 21-amino acid peptide produced in a variety of tissues including endothelial and vascular smooth-muscle cells, neurons and astrocytes in the central nervous system, and endometrial cells.
(Endothelin-1, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
It is predominantly composed of fibrillary neoplastic astrocytes.
(Fibrillary Astrocytoma, NCI Thesaurus/WHO)
It is characterized by the presence of a conspicuous, though variable, fraction of gemistocytic neoplastic astrocytes.
(Gemistocytic Astrocytoma, NCI Thesaurus/Adapted from WHO)
A neoplastic astrocyte characterized by the presence of an atypical nucleus (large, irregular, or hyperchromatic), scant amount of cytoplasm, and cell processes that contribute to the formation of a fibrillary matrix.
(Fibrillary Neoplastic Astrocyte, NCI Thesaurus)
LIF and BMP2 cytokines signal through different receptors and transcription factors (STATs and SMADs) and act in synergy on neural progenitors to induce astrocytes.
(Leukemia Inhibitory Factor, NCI Thesaurus)
A benign or malignant brain and spinal cord tumor that arises from glial cells (astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, ependymal cells).
(Neuroglial Tumor, NCI Thesaurus)
The types of neuroglia include oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, microglia, and ependymal cells.
(Neuroglia, NCI Dictionary)
The latter include astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, ependymal cells, neuroblasts, and olfactory receptor cells.
(Neuroepithelial Tissue, NCI Thesaurus)