neuron（nerve cell）
Neurons are cells that make up the nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord, and are critical to its function. Neurons have a distinctive shape, and can be categorized into three parts: the cell body, the axon, and the dendrites. Their distinctive morphology arises from their role in nervous system communication, in which signals are received at the dendrites, integrated at the cell body, and resulting signals ultimately transmitted to other cells at the ends of the axon.
Pluripotent stem cells are often induced to differentiate into neural cells by creating cell aggregates known as neurospheres. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from a patient with a neurological disease can be differentiated to obtain neurons recapitulating key disease characteristics, providing a model system for studying the disease and developing therapeutic strategies.
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