Abstract: One of the key challenges in neuroscience is that the central nervous system (CNS; the brain and spinal cord), is largely unable to regenerate after injury. One factor contributing to this lack of repair is the accumulation of cellular and myelin debris at the site of injury. The debris is not efficiently phagocytosed and can persist for years after the initial injury, resulting in an inflammatory environment which inhibits axonal regrowth (Lutz and Barres, 2014). The main cells responsible for phagocytosis in the CNS are microglia and astrocytes. While both these cells are competent phagocytes, their ability to clear cellular and myelin debris is diminished in CNS pathologies (Lutz and Barres, 2014). In contrast to the CNS, the peripheral nervous system can regenerate unless the injury is complex or large. This is partly due to the ability of peripheral glia to rapidly phagocytose debris after an injury, followed by modulation of inflammation and secretion of growth factors that support axonal growth (Barton et al., 2017). The ability to promote regeneration has led to the use of peripheral glia in transplantation therapies to treat CNS injuries, particularly spinal cord injury. These peripheral glia are (1) Schwann cells, which surround most peripheral nerves and (2) olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs), which are the glia of the olfactory nerve. While these glia share many similarities, there have distinct differences. For example, a comparison of the Schwann cell and OEC transcriptomes showed that OECs express higher levels of factors relating to tissue repair than Schwann cells, including those involved in phagocytosis and degradation (Franssen et al., 2008). Understanding these differences may guide and improve transplantation therapies to repair the CNS.