A 24-year-old man is brought to the emergency department after a witnessed generalized tonic-clonic seizure. Earlier in the day, he sustained a mild traumatic brain injury in a bicycle accident. CT scan shows a small cortical contusion with surrounding edema. Several hours later, he becomes increasingly confused and then has recurrent focal seizures. Laboratory studies are normal, including serum sodium, calcium, magnesium, and glucose. The treating physician notes that local extracellular potassium accumulation after neuronal firing can depolarize nearby neurons and promote seizure propagation unless it is rapidly buffered by glial cells.

Which of the following cells is primarily responsible for removing K+ from the extracellular space in the CNS to help stabilize neuronal membrane potentials after intense neuronal activity?