astrocyte

American  

[as-truh-sahyt] / ˈæs trəˌsaɪt /

noun

Cell Biology.

1. a star-shaped neuroglial cell of ectodermal origin.

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astrocyte British  

/ ˈæstrəʊˌsaɪt /

noun

1. any of the star-shaped cells in the tissue supporting the brain and spinal cord (neuroglia)

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astrocyte Scientific  

/ ăs′trə-sīt′ /

1. A star-shaped cell, especially one of the glial cells that support the tissue of the central nervous system.

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Other Word Forms

• astrocytic adjective

Etymology

Origin of astrocyte

First recorded in 1895–1900; astro- + -cyte

Example Sentences

"If we remove astrocyte CCN1, the microglia eat, but they don't digest. They call in more microglia, which also eat but don't digest," Burda said.

From Science Daily • Feb. 13, 2026

Using this method, Tsai and Murdock's team saw that gamma sensory stimulation indeed promoted changes consistent with increased astrocyte AQP4 activity.

From Science Daily • Feb. 28, 2024

This triggered conversion of all three types of astrocyte to neurons.

From Nature • Jun. 23, 2020

The thickness of the myelin sheath is not fixed; instead it reflects a dynamic balance between the addition of layers next to the axon and removal of the outer layer under control of the astrocyte.

From Scientific American • Mar. 12, 2020

Another cell called an astrocyte sits alongside the axon.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015