Both multiple sclerosis (MS) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are progressive neurological disorders with myelin injury and memory impairment. However, whether myelin impairment could cause AD-like neurological pathology remains unclear. To explore neurological pathology following myelin injury, we assessed cognitive function, the expression of myelin proteins, axonal transport-associated proteins,...

The molecular determinants of abnormal propagation of action potentials along axons and ectopic conductance in demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system, like multiple sclerosis (MS), are poorly defined. Widespread interruption of myelin occurs in several mouse models of demyelination, rendering them useful for research. Herein, considerable myelin loss is shown in the optic nerves o...

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the gold standard for the detection of multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions. However, current MRI techniques provide little information about the structural features of a brain lesion with inflammatory cell infiltration, demyelination, gliosis, acute axonal damage and axonal loss. To identify methods for a differentiation of demyelination, inflammation, and axonal...

Metabolic insult results in apoptosis and depletion of mature oligodendrocytes during demyelination. To examine the role of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) during acute demyelination and remyelination in the adult CNS, we exposed transgenic mice that continuously express IGF-1 (IGF-1 tg) to cuprizone intoxication. Demyelination was observed within the corpus callosum in both wild-type and ...

Neuroprotective approaches for central nervous system regeneration have not been successful in clinical practice so far and compounds that enhance remyelination are still not available for patients with multiple sclerosis. The objective of this study was to determine potential regenerative effects of the substance cytidine-5'-diphospho (CDP)-choline in two different murine animal models of mult...

Multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions are characterized by inflammatory demyelination and reactive gliosis, and although remyelination occurs in some lesions it is limited and incomplete. Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is an important cytokine that stimulates oligodendrocyte proliferation and survival in vitro. Opalin is a unique molecular marker for mature oligodendrocytes. The aim of this study w...

Myelin is a multilayered glial cell membrane that forms segmented sheaths around large-caliber axons of both the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS). Myelin covering insures rapid and efficient transmission of nerve impulses. Direct visual assessment of local changes of myelin content in vivo could greatly facilitate diagnosis and therapeutic treatments of myelin-re...

The TAM family of receptor protein tyrosine kinases comprises three known members, namely Tyro3, Axl, and Mer. These receptors are widely expressed in the nervous system, including by oligodendrocytes, the cell type responsible for myelinating the CNS. We examined the potential role of the TAM family and of their principle cognate ligand, Gas6 (growth arrest gene 6), in modulating the phenotype...

Background: Methylthioadenosine is a metabolite of the polyamine pathway that modulates methyltransferase activity, thereby influencing DNA and protein methylation. Since methylthioadenosine produces neuroprotection in models of inflammation, ischemia and epilepsy, we set out to evaluate the role of methylthioadenosine in promoting remyelination, a process that will protect axons in demyelinati...

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are pleiotropic cells with potential therapeutic benefits for a wide range of diseases. Because of their immunomodulatory properties they have been utilized to treat autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), which is characterized by demyelination. The microenvironment surrounding MSCs is thought to affect their differentiation and phenotype, which could...