Publications by authors named "Penelope Dimas"
Article Synopsis
- Understanding how platelets influence oligodendrocyte progenitor cell (OPC) function is crucial for developing treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS).
- Research shows that platelets aggregate near OPCs in demyelinated areas, and reducing platelets leads to impaired OPC differentiation and remyelination.
- The study indicates that platelets have a dual role in remyelination, enhancing OPC differentiation initially but suppressing it with prolonged exposure, providing insights into remyelination challenges in MS.
Oligodendrocytes (OLs) support neurons and signal transmission in the central nervous system (CNS) by enwrapping axons with myelin, a lipid-rich membrane structure. We addressed the significance of fatty acid (FA) synthesis in OLs by depleting FA synthase (FASN) from OL progenitor cells (OPCs) in transgenic mice. While we detected no effects in proliferation and differentiation along the postnatal OL lineage, we found that FASN is essential for accurate myelination, including myelin growth.
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- Myelination requires a significant increase in cell metabolism for lipid and membrane production, with fatty acid synthesis being vital in myelinating glial cells.
- Genetic modification of mice showed that Schwann cells need the enzyme fatty acid synthase (FASN) for proper lipid composition, onset of myelination, and growth of myelin.
- Depleting FASN in Schwann cells triggers lipolysis in nearby adipocytes and disrupts the transcriptional regulation by PPARγ, but these myelination issues can be corrected using the PPARγ agonist rosiglitazone.