Macroglial cells of the teleost central nervous system: A survey of the main types

Following our previous review of teleost microglia,we focus here on the morphological and histochemicalfeatures of the three principal macroglia types in the teleostcentral nervous system (ependymal cells, astrocyte-likecells/radial glia and oligodendrocytes). This review isconcerned with recent literature and not only providesinsights into the various individual aspects of the differenttypes of macroglial cells plus a comparison with mammalianglia, but also indicates the several potentials that theneural tissue of teleosts exhibits in neurobiological research.Indeed, some areas of the teleost brain areparticularly suitable in terms of the establishment of a“simple” but complete research model (i.e. the visualpathway complex and the supramedullary neuron clusterin puffer fish). The relationships between neurons and glialcells are considered in fish, with the aim of providing anintegrated picture of the complex ways in which neuronsand glia communicate and collaborate in normal andinjured neural tissues. The recent setting up of successfulprotocols for fish glia and mixed neuron-glia cultures,together with the molecular facilities offered by theknowledge of some teleost genomes, should allow consistentinput towards the achievement of this aim