astrocyte

noun

as·​tro·​cyte ˈa-strə-ˌsīt 

: a large star-shaped cell of the glia

astrocytic

ˌa-strə-ˈsi-tik 

adjective

Examples of astrocyte in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Because Volterra's team located them in structures associated with memory, the researchers plan to examine data from people with Alzheimer's disease to see whether, and how, their signaling astrocytes are altered. —Simon Makin, Scientific American, 21 Nov. 2023

The winning entry: a rodent optic nerve head with astrocytes (yellow), contractile proteins (red), and retinal vasculature (green). —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 17 Oct. 2023

Some — but not all — astrocytes responded with glutamate. —Laura Dattaro, Quanta Magazine, 18 Oct. 2023

Volterra believed that some astrocytes were capable of the latter. —Laura Dattaro, Quanta Magazine, 18 Oct. 2023

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Astrocyt (later Astrozyt), from astro- astro- + -cyt -cyte

Note: The term was probably introduced by the Hungarian histologist Mihály (Michael von) Lenhossék (1863-1937) in Der feinere Bau des Nervensystems im Lichte neuester Forschungen, 2. Auflage (Berlin, 1895), p. 180.

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

astrocyte

noun

as·​tro·​cyte ˈas-trə-ˌsīt 

: a star-shaped cell

especially : any comparatively large much-branched glial cell

Glia outnumber neurons in the human brain by a factor of 10 to one, and astrocytes are the most abundant type of glial cell.

—Tina Hesman Saey, Science News

Astrocytes come in two main forms: fibrous astrocytes are found in the white matter and protoplasmic astrocytes in the gray matter.

—Harold Kimelberg and Michael Norenberg, Scientific American

astrocytic

ˌas-trə-ˈsit-ik 

adjective

All gliomas, particularly the astrocytic neoplasms, are histologically, genetically, and thus therapeutically heterogeneous.

—Lisa M. DeAngelis, The New England Journal of Medicine