Some steroids are synthesized within the central and peripheral nervous system, mostly by glial cells. These are known as neurosteroids. In the brain, certain neurosteroids have been shown to act directly on membrane receptors for neurotransmitters. For example, progesterone inhibits the neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, whereas its 3a,5a-reduced metabolite 3a,5a-tetrahydroprogesterone...

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the most common neurological disorders. It affects mainly women. This autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) is characterized by intermittent or chronic damage to the myelin sheaths (demyelination), focal inflammation and axonal degeneration. During the early relapsing/remitting stages of MS, myelin can regenerate, but as the disease progresses ...

Xenopus oligodendrocytes and aspects of their differentiation were analyzed in vitro and in vivo using cell- and stage-specific antibodies. Undifferentiated oligodendrocytes were derived from optic nerves or spinal cords. They divided in vitro, were of elongated shape, were glial fibrillary acidic protein and O4 positive, transiently exhibited several antigens including HNK-1 and L1, and promot...

Oligodendrocytes (OLs) are myelin-forming cells that are present within the central nervous system. Impaired oligodendrocyte precursor cell (OPC) differentiation into mature OLs is a major cause of demyelination diseases. Therefore, identifying the underlying molecular mechanisms of OPC differentiation is crucial to understand the processes of myelination and demyelination. It has been acknowle...

Oligodendrocytes, the myelin-forming cells of the central nervous system (CNS), and astrocytes constitute macroglia. This review deals with the recent progress related to the origin and differentiation of the oligodendrocytes, their relationships to other neural cells, and functional neuroglial interactions under physiological conditions and in demyelinating diseases. One of the problems in stu...

The desert hedgehog (Dhh) signaling pathway is involved in the development of peripheral nerves (PNs). Dhh-null mice show abnormal neuronal development and perineurial barrier function. As it was previously shown that dhh is mainly expressed in developmental nerves and Sonic hedgehog protein (dhh homologous) has therapeutic effects in neuronal survival, we attempted to investigate the possible ...

The desert hedgehog (Dhh) signaling pathway is involved in the development of peripheral nerves (PNs). Dhh-null mice show abnormal neuronal development and perineurial barrier function. As it was previously shown that dhh is mainly expressed in developmental nerves and Sonic hedgehog protein (dhh homologous) has therapeutic effects in neuronal survival, we attempted to investigate the possible ...

in addition to its antioxidant effect, vitamin e or α–tocopherol is suggested to enhance remyelination in the animal model of non-inflammatory demyelination. in this study, the possible proliferative effect of vitamin e on human- induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural progenitors (hips-nps) and the underlying mechanisms were investigated in vitro. nps were induced from ips cells via 3 ste...

In relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) subtype, the patient's brain itself is capable of repairing the damage, remyelinating the axon and recovering the neurological function. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is in close proximity with brain parenchyma and contains a host of proteins and other molecules, which influence the cellular physiology, that may balance damage and repair of neurons a...

Macrophages dominate sites of CNS injury in which they promote both injury and repair. These divergent effects may be caused by distinct macrophage subsets, i.e., "classically activated" proinflammatory (M1) or "alternatively activated" anti-inflammatory (M2) cells. Here, we show that an M1 macrophage response is rapidly induced and then maintained at sites of traumatic spinal cord injury and t...