Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation a cell body, which houses the nucleus. Axons and dendrites form extensions from the cell body. Glial cells are "nerve-helper" cells that provide structural support, nourishment and protection for neurons. Astrocytes, a kind of glial cell, are the primary support cells of the brain and spinal cord. They make and secrete proteins called neurotrophic factors, which assist in the maintenance of nerve cells in the central nervous system. They also break down and remove proteins or chemicals that might be harmful to neurons (for example, glutamate, a neurotransmitter that in excess causes cells to become overexcited and die by a
Perisynaptic schwann cells cells of which Perisynaptic Schwann cells are a subset. Neural crest cells are found in the dorsal neural tube from which nerves and glia alike grow and Neural crest cells are the precursors to many various tissue types including enteric neurons and glia. Schwann cell precursors (a first derivative of Neural crest cells) are present as the nerve axon grows from the dorsal neural tube, but it has been shown that these glial precursors are not essential to axonal growth. The transition from neural crest cells to Schwann cell precursors is characterized by Sox10 and generally occurs around embryonic day