oligodendrocyte precursor cells

Changes in the genome of oligodendrocytes were found in DNA regions associated with immune genes and risk mutations linked to multiple sclerosis (MS), a study shows. The changes identified make it possible for these immune genes and MS-associated regions to have an altered expression — meaning being…

Blocking a particular receptor protein of the BMP signaling pathway effectively promoted the maturation of myelin-producing cells and myelin repair in two mouse models of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study showed. Notably, these benefits, observed even after disease onset, took place in the presence of fibrinogen, a blood clotting…

Scientists have demonstrated that stem cells derived from the skin cells of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) can grow into normal myelin-producing nerve cells, called oligodendrocytes, in a mouse model of MS. These patient-derived cells migrated throughout the brain of myelin-deficient mice, producing myelin — the fatty…

Scientists have created myelin-producing cells, called oligodendrocytes, from pluripotent stem cells derived from patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in just three weeks. They also demonstrated these lab-made oligodendrocytes were able to produce myelin — the fatty substance that normally wraps around neurons’…

Using a two-pronged approach, researchers were able to restore myelin on regenerated nerve fibers in a mouse model of optic nerve injury, which has implications for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other diseases associated with myelin loss, a study reported. The study, “…

A pathway controlled by three proteins — Daam2, Nedd4, and VHL — was identified by researchers as a key regulator of myelin production during central nervous system development and regeneration after injury. Myelin, the protective fatty layer that covers nerve fibers and helps to speed transmission of signals between nerve cells,…

Anavex Life Sciences‘ investigational therapy Anavex 2-73 (blarcamesine) showed an ability to protect, repair, and induce the formation of oligodendrocytes — the cells that produce the protective myelin layer around neurons — in early cell testing, researchers reported. These findings, which further establish the therapy’s potential as a treatment…

NervGen Pharma announced plans to open clinical trials evaluating the potential of its lead candidate NVG-291 to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) and spinal cord injury. NVG-291 is an investigational peptide that has shown an ability to stimulate nerve regeneration following an injury in several animal models of disease.

Brain inflammation in multiple sclerosis (MS) hijacks immature myelin repair cells, not only preventing myelin restoration but also promoting sustained inflammation and immune attacks against myelin, a preclinical study shows.

Oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), the cells responsible for myelin production, are unable to migrate into sites of myelin loss in the brain. These cells then cluster and disrupt the blood-brain barrier (BBB), triggering an inflammatory process in the early stages of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study shows. The study, “Aberrant oligodendroglial–vascular interactions disrupt the blood–brain barrier, triggering CNS inflammation,” was published in the journal Nature Neuroscience. MS is an autoimmune disease characterized by the loss of myelin (demyelination) — the fat-rich substance that protects nerve fibers — which leads to neurodegeneration. Along with loss of myelin, researchers have observed that the blood-brain barrier — a highly selective membrane that shields the central nervous system with its cerebrospinal fluid from the general blood circulation — breaks down in the initial stages of disease. A team led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, have now discovered that OPCs are involved in the disruption of the blood-brain barrier in MS, according to a press release from the National MS Society, which funded the study. Oligodendrocytes are myelin-producing cells and are responsible for myelinating the nerve cells’ axons — a single oligodendrocyte is capable of myelinating multiple axons. Mature myelin-producing oligodendrocytes develop from more immature, stem cell-like OPCs. In a normal brain, upon myelin loss, OPCs are called into action and travel into the damage site where they mature and generate myelin-producing oligodendrocytes. In this study, the researchers found that OPCs in MS form clusters in blood vessels of the brain-blood barrier, having lost the ability to detach from these vessels and migrate to injury sites. In an animal model of MS, they saw that OPC aggregates altered the location of other cells — called astrocytes — in a competition for space, and contributed to the disruption of blood vessels. Astrocytes are a group of star-shaped cells, belonging to the group of glial cells, that provide neurons with energy, and work as a platform to clean up their waste. They also have other functions within the brain, such as regulating blood flow and inflammation. The team also observed that OPC aggregates trigger an immune inflammatory response, shown by a large number of microglia (the central nervous system immune cells) and immune cells called macrophages around these cell clusters. “We find in several MS cases, in lesion areas with active inflammation, that OPCs can be found clustered on vasculature, representing a defect in single cell perivascular migration and inability to detach from blood vessels,” the researchers wrote. Further molecular analysis revealed that OPCs have high levels of Wnt signaling, and elevated secretion of Wif1 factor to the extracellular space that could explain why OPCs accumulate and destroy the blood-brain barrier. The WiF1 factor is actually a negative regulator of Wnt signaling that is essential for the maintenance of the blood-brain barrier structure. This factor competes with Wnt ligands, and affects the integrity of cellular junctions, making the blood-brain barrier more fragile and permeable. "Evidence for this defective oligodendroglial–vascular interaction in MS suggests that aberrant OPC perivascular migration not only impairs their lesion recruitment but can also act as a disease perpetuator via disruption of the BBB,” the researchers wrote. They suggested that more studies are needed to better understand the interactions between blood vessels and oligodendrocytes, which could help identify new therapeutic targets for promoting myelin repair in MS.

Therapy candidates that block enzymes responsible for making cholesterol can promote myelin regeneration, a discovery that could lead to new regenerative medicines capable of treating multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurological diseases, according to a study. In fact, Convelo Therapeutics plans to do just that, announcing its intention to use…

Researchers at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) have identified the histamine receptor 3 (H3R) as a potential new therapeutic target for promoting remyelination in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Their study “Histamine Receptor 3 negatively regulates oligodendrocyte differentiation and remyelination,” appeared in the journal PLOS One. Regrowth of myelin is known as…

A substance that the pancreas secretes can promote the regeneration of the protective nerve-cell coating that is damaged in multiple sclerosis, a mouse study shows. The substance is fibroblast growth factor 21, or FGF21. It promotes remyelination, the renewal of the myelin sheath protecting the central nervous system, according to the…

of the neurons.

The 2016 Fritz Krauth Award was given by the Paralyzed Veterans of America to Dr. Sarah Moyon, a researcher focusing on ways to understand and treat symptoms of diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) and those of the spine. The award ceremony took place at Cleveland, Ohio, at the bi-annual board meeting of…

Anavex Life Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of new therapies for neurodegenerative and central nervous system (CNS) diseases, among others, recently announced the presentation of preclinical data for one of its lead drug candidates, ANAVEX2-73, as a multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment. The preclinical study’s lead investigator, Dr.

Researchers have described the mechanisms by which cell precursors of oligodendrocytes — the cells responsible for the generation of myelin in the central nervous system — migrate from their birthplace to their workplace during brain and spinal cord development, and begin to mature and wrap about nerve fibers. The finding, the authors…