Underlying the research geared towards developing therapies for demyelination disorders are the inquiries into which type of oligodendrocyte precursor glia cell can carry out remyelination. Disorders including cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury and stroke, are characteristic of a reduction in myelination. Ragnhildur Karadottir, Nicole Hamilton, Yamina Bakiri and David Atwell set out to resolve the issue of determining which cell can carry out remyelination. The study targets this issue by first exposing an existing class of oligodendrocyte precursor glia cells (OPC) capable of generating action potentials, which they refer to as INA cells. Furthermore, several experiments investigate the properties and characteristics of the cells, their ability to receive synaptic input, as well as, their behavior under ischemic conditions.
The purpose of the article is to determine which OPC type should be of primary focus when developing therapies for demyelination-related neurological diseases. OPC transplantation has been proposed as a form of treatment as these cells may have regenerative properties. Unfortunately, the exact functions of OPCs are not fully known and this hinders the development of these therapies. All of the data presented in the article support the purpose of representing two classes of morphologically identical but electrophysiologically distinct oligodendrocyte precursor glia cells. While it has long been understood that OPCs could not generate action potentials and only served to insulate axons, this new discovery has shed light on a new spectrum of possibilities. In particular, the results presented here lead to intriguing implications that glia cells may have inherent function related to myelination which could be triggered by signals received through action potentials.
Determining the OPC that can carry out remyelination is of importance because of the role this information will play in developing the therapy for demyelination-related...