introduction: multiple sclerosis (ms) is generally known as a manageable but not yet curable autoimmune disease affecting central nervous system. a potential therapeutic approach should possess several properties: prevent immune system from damaging the brain and spinal cord, promote differentiation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (opcs) into mature oligodendrocytes to produce myelin, preve...

introduction demyelination is a common lesion of spinal cord injury; cell therapy is an approach for replacing the lost oligodendrocytes. objective in this study, bone marrow stromal cells (bmscs) have been transdifferentiated into oligodendrocyte-like cells (olcs) and used in cytotherapy of contused spinal cords in rats. materials and methods the bmscs were collected from rat long bones, cultu...

In X-ALD, mutation/deletion of ALD gene (ABCD1) and the resultant very long chain fatty acid (VLCFA) derangement has dramatically opposing effects in astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. While loss of Abcd1 in astrocytes produces a robust inflammatory response, the oligodendrocytes undergo cell death leading to demyelination in X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD). The mechanisms of these distinct...

Elevations of the levels of N-acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate (NAAG) and N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) are associated with myelin loss in the leucodystrophies Canavan's disease and Pelizaeus-Merzbacher-like disease. NAAG and NAA can activate and antagonize neuronal N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, and also act on group II metabotropic glutamate receptors. Oligodendrocytes and their precursors have r...

To analyze the expression of cell-surface molecules on neurons or glia during myelination, we have developed a xenotypic coculture system in which mouse oligodendrocytes interact with rat dorsal root ganglion neurons. The axo-glial interactions in these cultures promote oligodendrocyte precursor cell proliferation, survival, and differentiation as in vivo, thus supporting the validity of the xe...

Whereas astrocytes have been in the limelight of scientific interest in brain energy metabolism for a while, oligodendrocytes are still waiting for a place on the metabolic stage. We propose to term the interaction of oligodendrocytes with astrocytes and neurons: NOA (neuron-oligodendrocyte-astrocyte) interactions. One of the reasons to find out more about metabolic interactions between oligode...

A novel method has been developed for the preparation of nearly pure separate cultures of astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. The method is based on (a) the absence of viable neurons in cultures prepared from postnatal rat cerebra, (b) the stratification of astrocytes and oligodendrocytes in culture, and (c) the selective detachment of the overlying oligodendrocytes when exposed to sheer forces ge...

Studies on myelination and oligodendrocyte development are inevitably linked with demyelinating conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS), leukodystrophies or spinal cord injury (SCI). Chronic loss of myelin, subsequently leading to neurodegeneration, is the ultimate cause of severe and permanent disability. Thus, fast restoration of myelin (remyelination) is essential for circumventing demyel...