Mossy Cell

A neurons cell type of the human nervous system.

Excitatory hilar neuron of the dentate gyrus that shapes hippocampal excitability and is highly relevant to temporal lobe epilepsy.

Function

Excitatory hilar neuron that regulates dentate gyrus excitability through direct excitation of granule cells and concurrent recruitment of GABAergic interneurons; net effect is context-dependent.

Morphology

Large multipolar soma in the hilus bearing thorny excrescences on proximal dendrites; associational/commissural axon to the inner molecular layer.

Specification

  • Neurotransmitter: Glutamate
  • Receptors: AMPA; NMDA
  • Location: Hilus (polymorphic layer) of the dentate gyrus, hippocampus
  • Projections: Ipsilateral/Contralateral inner molecular layer
  • Firing: Complex spiking
  • Markers: Glutamatergic identity via SLC17A7/VGLUT1; GluR2/3 (historical immunolabel); calretinin (CALB2) species-qualified (ventral, not dorsal, mossy cells in mice); thorny excrescences + hilar location are key defining criteria
  • Developmental origin: Dentate neuroepithelium
  • Disease: Temporal lobe epilepsy; traumatic brain injury; ischemia (selective vulnerability)
  • Cell Ontology: CL:0020069

References

  1. Scharfman HE (2016). The enigmatic mossy cell of the dentate gyrus.. Nature reviews. Neuroscience 17 PMID 27466143
  2. Scharfman HE (2025). Towards an Understanding of the Dentate Gyrus Hilus.. Hippocampus 35 PMID 39721944

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