Oscillatory calcium release and sustained store-operated oscillatory calcium signaling prevents differentiation of human oligodendrocyte progenitor cells.

Endogenous remyelination in demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis is contingent upon the successful differentiation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs). Signaling via the Gα-coupled muscarinic receptor (MR) inhibits human OPC differentiation and impairs endogenous remyelination in experimental models. We hypothesized that calcium release following Gα-coupled receptor (GR) activation directly regulates human OPC (hOPC) cell fate.