Oligodendrocyte Progenitors in Glial Scar: A Bet on Remyelination.

Cells

Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology of Purinergic Transmission, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy.

Published: June 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • In response to trauma or neurodegenerative diseases, adult OPCs activate, migrate, and attempt to proliferate to repair damaged areas, but their effectiveness is hindered by a glial scar formed by reactive astrocytes and microglia.
  • The review highlights the importance of focusing on OPC behavior in the context of glial scars and proposes therapeutic strategies that could enhance OPC differentiation and promote remyelination in the CNS.

Article Abstract

Oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) represent a subtype of glia, giving rise to oligodendrocytes, the myelin-forming cells in the central nervous system (CNS). While OPCs are highly proliferative during development, they become relatively quiescent during adulthood, when their fate is strictly influenced by the extracellular context. In traumatic injuries and chronic neurodegenerative conditions, including those of autoimmune origin, oligodendrocytes undergo apoptosis, and demyelination starts. Adult OPCs become immediately activated; they migrate at the lesion site and proliferate to replenish the damaged area, but their efficiency is hampered by the presence of a glial scar-a barrier mainly formed by reactive astrocytes, microglia and the deposition of inhibitory extracellular matrix components. If, on the one hand, a glial scar limits the lesion spreading, it also blocks tissue regeneration. Therapeutic strategies aimed at reducing astrocyte or microglia activation and shifting them toward a neuroprotective phenotype have been proposed, whereas the role of OPCs has been largely overlooked. In this review, we have considered the glial scar from the perspective of OPCs, analysing their behaviour when lesions originate and exploring the potential therapies aimed at sustaining OPCs to efficiently differentiate and promote remyelination.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11202012PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cells13121024DOI Listing

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