Introduction A wide array of processes occurs after spinal cord injury, including white matter demyelination and proximal and distal Wallerian degeneration. The demyelination and interruption of the axonal tract ultimately leads to the functional loss seen in spinal cord injuries. Therefore it is important to have a non-invasive technique that is able to track myelin in spinal cords. There are ...

Introduction: Demyelination is one of the main causes of neurological disability. It is the end product of numerous pathological processes, multiple sclerosis (MS) being the most common cause. More than 70% of the MS patients suffer from optic disturbances. This disease commonly affects the optic pathway, particularly the optic nerves and chiasm. Several attempts have been made to produce a ...

Oligodendrocytes generate large amounts of myelin by extension of their cell membranes. Though lipid is the major component of myelin, detailed lipid metabolism in the maintenance of myelin is not understood. We reported previously that miR-32 might be involved in myelin maintenance (Shin et al., 2009). Here we demonstrate a novel role for miR-32 in oligodendrocyte function and development thro...

Myelin is probably one of the most fascinating and innovative biological acquisition: a glia plasma membrane tightly wrapped around an axon and insulating it. Chondrichthyans (cartilaginous fishes) form a large group of vertebrates, and they are among oldest extant jawed vertebrate lineage. It has been known from studies 150 years ago, that they are positioned at the root of the successful appe...

Myelin membranes prepared from rat brain possess both the enzyme and substrates to incorporate azP from (ya2P]ATP into membrane protein constituents. Qf the myelin polypeptides, only the two basic proteins were phosphorylated ; and both components appeared to be equally good substrates for endogenous or added protein kinases. The a2P was transferred primarily to serine residues of the basic pro...

Oligodendrocytes, the myelin-forming cells of the CNS, exquisitely tailor the thickness of individual myelin sheaths to the diameter of their target axons to maximize the speed of action potential propagation, thus ensuring proper neuronal connectivity and function. Following demyelinating injuries to the adult CNS, newly formed oligodendrocytes frequently generate new myelin sheaths. Following...

Multiple sclerosis and migraine with aura are clinically correlated and both show imaging changes suggestive of myelin disruption. Furthermore, cortical myelin loss in the cuprizone animal model of multiple sclerosis enhances susceptibility to spreading depression, the likely underlying cause of migraine with aura. Since multiple sclerosis pathology involves inflammatory T cell lymphocyte produ...

Highly specialized glial cells wrap axons with a multilayered myelin membrane in vertebrates. Myelin serves essential roles in the functioning of the nervous system. Axonal degeneration is the major cause of permanent neurological disability in primary myelin diseases. Many glycoproteins have been identified in myelin, and a lack of one myelin glycoprotein results in abnormal myelin structures ...

In search for the molecular mechanisms underlying the formation of the major dense line in peripheral nerve myelin we investigated mice deficient in the myelin proteins P0 and MBP. In mice lacking both molecules axons were enwrapped by myelin-like processes devoid of the major dense line, while mice deficient in either protein showed, respectively, partial and normal compaction. Mice heterozygo...

Myelin was prepared from the brachial plexus and cervical spinal cord of adult squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus). Brachial plexus myelin contained a larger amount of sphingomyelin and smaller amounts of cholesterol, lipid galactose, ethanolamine phosphoglyceride, choline phosphoglyceride, and alk-1-enyl ether than spinal cord myelin when compared as ratios to total lipid phosphorus. The perip...