Lipids are a major constituent of myelin and apolipoprotein E (apoE) plays a key role in lipid transport. We therefore hypothesized that apoE is involved in the processes of demyelination and remyelination. Furthermore as there is a biologically significant polymorphism in the APOE gene, the APOE genotype may influence the course of multiple sclerosis (MS). Specifically, as there is reduced aff...

Rapid and efficient axon remyelination aids in restoring strong electrochemical communication with end organs and in preventing axonal degeneration often observed in demyelinating neuropathies. The signals from axons that can trigger more effective remyelination in vivo are still being elucidated. Here we report the remarkable effect of delayed brief electrical nerve stimulation (ES; 1 hour @ 2...

Animal models with selective genetic immunodeficiencies are useful tools to identify pathogenic mechanisms of disease. Resistant (C57BL/6F 129/J) (H-2b) mice are rendered susceptible to Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus-induced demyelination by genetic disruption of the beta 2 microglobulin gene [beta 2 m(-l-)]. The absence of beta 2 m prevents the expression of major histocompatibility ...

Remyelination, the process by which new myelin sheaths are restored to demyelinated axons, represents one of the most compelling examples of adult multipotent progenitor cells contributing to regeneration of the injured central nervous system (CNS). This process can occur with remarkable efficiency in both clinical disease, such as multiple sclerosis, and in experimental models, revealing an im...

Background. There is an insufficient remyelination in the lesions of multiple sclerosis (MS). One of the factor that was found to promote remyelination is neuregulin-1 which is the ligand of ErbB4. Immune cells have been implicated in neurogenesis and oligodendrogenesis. Aims. We studied the expression of ErbB4 in the immune cells of patients with relapsing remitting (RR) multiple sclerosis (MS...

The effect of aging on myelin sheaths in the rhesus monkey was studied in the vertical bundles of nerve fibers that traverse monkey cerebral cortex in primary visual area 17 and prefrontal area 46. As shown previously, with age the internodes of many of these myelin sheaths show structural changes, the most common of which is an accumulation of electron-dense cytoplasm within some sheaths, a ch...

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) characterized by inflammatory and neurodegenerative processes. One of its pathophysiological hallmarks is demyelination, a consequence of oligodendroglial cell death leading supply shortfall and missing electrical insulation to axons. Demyelination induced consequences on neuronal network activity and subsequen...

In inflammatory demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), myelin degradation results in loss of axonal function and eventual axonal degeneration. Differentiation of resident oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) leading to remyelination of denuded axons occurs regularly in early stages of MS but halts as the pathology transitions into progressive MS. Pharmacological potentiation ...

Currently available immunomodulatory therapies do not stop the pathogenesis underlying multiple sclerosis (MS) and are only partially effective in preventing the onset of permanent disability in patients with MS. Identifying a drug that stimulates endogenous remyelination and/or minimizes axonal degeneration would reduce the rate and degree of disease progression. Here, the effects of the highl...

In demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis, a critical problem is failure of remyelination, which is important for protecting axons against degeneration and restoring conduction deficits. However, the underlying mechanism of demyelination/remyelination remains unclear. N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase-IX (GnT-IX; also known as GnT-Vb) is a brain-specific glycosyltransferase that cataly...