Institute of Developmental and Regenerative Biology, Key Laboratory of Organ Development and Regeneration of Zhejiang Province, College of Life Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 310029, People's Republic of China.
Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky 40292, and.
J Neurosci. 2014 Jun 18;34(25):8467-73. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0311-14.2014.
Oligodendrocytes are myelin-forming glia that ensheath the axons of neurons in the CNS. Recent studies have revealed that Wnt/β-catenin signaling plays important roles in oligodendrocyte development and myelin formation. However, there are conflicting reports on the specific function of Wnt signaling components in oligodendrocyte specification and differentiation. In the present study, we demonstrate that activation of β-catenin in neural progenitor cells before gliogenesis inhibits the generation of oligodendrocyte progenitors (OLPs) in mice. Once OLPs are formed, β-catenin becomes necessary for oligodendrocyte differentiation. Disruption of β-catenin signaling instead leads to a significant delay of oligodendrocyte maturation. These findings suggest that Wnt/β-catenin pathway regulates oligodendrocyte development in a stage-dependent manner.
少突胶质细胞是形成髓鞘的神经胶质细胞，包绕中枢神经系统神经元的轴突。最近的研究表明，Wnt/β-catenin 信号通路在少突胶质细胞的发育和髓鞘形成中发挥重要作用。然而，Wnt 信号通路成分在少突胶质细胞的特化和分化中的具体功能存在矛盾的报道。在本研究中，我们证明在神经前体细胞向神经胶质分化之前激活 β-catenin 会抑制小鼠少突胶质前体细胞（OLP）的产生。一旦形成 OLP，β-catenin 对于少突胶质细胞分化是必需的。β-catenin 信号通路的破坏反而会导致少突胶质细胞成熟的显著延迟。这些发现表明 Wnt/β-catenin 通路以依赖于阶段的方式调节少突胶质细胞的发育。
