A morphological analysis of activity-dependent myelination and myelin injury in transitional oligodendrocytes.

Neuronal activity is established as a driver of oligodendrocyte (OL) differentiation and myelination. The concept of activity-dependent myelin plasticity, and its role in cognition and disease, is gaining support. Methods capable of resolving changes in the morphology of individual myelinating OL would advance our understanding of myelin plasticity and injury, thus we adapted a labelling approach involving Semliki Forest Virus (SFV) vectors to resolve and quantify the 3-D structure of OL processes and internodes in cerebellar slice cultures.

Live-imaging in the CNS: New insights on oligodendrocytes, myelination, and their responses to inflammation.

The formation and repair of myelin involves alterations in the molecular and physical properties of oligodendrocytes, and highly coordinated interactions with their target axons. Characterising the nature and timing of these events at the molecular and cellular levels illuminates the fundamental events underlying myelin formation, and provides opportunities for the development of therapies to replace myelin lost through traumatic injury and inflammation. The dynamic nature of these events requires that live-imaging methods be used to capture this information accurately and completely.