Protocol to isolate a large amount of functional oligodendrocyte precursor cells from the cerebral cortex of adult mice and humans.

During development, oligodendrocytes are generated from oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), a cell type that is a significant proportion of the total cells (3-8%) in the adult central nervous system (CNS) of both rodents and humans. Adult OPCs are responsible for the spontaneous remyelination that occurs in demyelinating diseases like Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and they constitute an interesting source of cells for regenerative therapy in such conditions. However, there is little data regarding the neurobiology of adult OPCs isolated from mice since an efficient method to isolate them has yet to be established.

Inhibition of endogenous phosphodiesterase 7 promotes oligodendrocyte precursor differentiation and survival.

During the development of the central nervous system (CNS), oligodendrocyte precursors (OPCs) are generated in specific sites within the neural tube and then migrate to colonize the entire CNS, where they differentiate into myelin-forming oligodendrocytes. Demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) are characterized by the death of these cells. The CNS reacts to demyelination and by promoting spontaneous remyelination, an effect mediated by endogenous OPCs, cells that represent approximately 5-7 % of the cells in the adult brain.

FGF-2 and Anosmin-1 are selectively expressed in different types of multiple sclerosis lesions.

Multiple sclerosis is a demyelinating disease that affects ≈ 2,000,000 people worldwide. In the advanced stages of the disease, endogenous oligodendrocyte precursors cannot colonize the lesions or differentiate into myelinating oligodendrocytes. During development, both FGF-2 and Anosmin-1 participate in oligodendrocyte precursor cell migration, acting via the FGF receptor 1 (FGFR1).

Cytoarchitectonic and neurochemical differentiation of the visual system in ethanol-induced cyclopic zebrafish larvae.

Embryonic exposure to ethanol leads to malformations such as cyclopia. Cyclopic embryos present fused eyes and lack of the ventral specification of the brain, with physiological and morphological defects in the visual system, which provides a useful model for teratology and neurotoxicity assessments. We analysed the differentiation of the visual areas in the ethanol-induced cyclopic animals.

Characterisation of neuronal and glial populations of the visual system during zebrafish lifespan.

During visual system morphogenesis, several cell populations arise at different time points correlating with the expression of specific molecular markers We have analysed the distribution pattern of three molecular markers (zn-1, calretinin and glial fibrillary acidic protein) which are involved in the development of zebrafish retina and optic tectum. zn-1 is a neural antigen expressed in the developing zebrafish central nervous system. Calretinin is the first calcium-binding protein expressed in the central nervous system of vertebrates and it is widely distributed in different neuronal populations of vertebrate retina, being a valuable marker for its early and late development.