CLONAL LINES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

脑内少突胶质细胞髓鞘的形成 中枢神经系统是一个复杂的发育过程， 许多中间步骤。 程序化髓鞘基因 表达受这些细胞固有的遗传因子调节， 细胞，以及细胞所遇到的环境影响， 从它们的胚胎发育地迁移到相当远的地方 从原点到最终的功能目标位置。 该项目旨在 增加我们对外在因素的理解， 参与调节少突胶质细胞分化， 髓鞘形成和维持。 该研究将使用几个 模型系统和分析技术来解决这个问题， 髓鞘形成的几个阶段。 一个关键 这些实验的主要内容是我们的观察， 培养系统进行髓鞘生成非常正常 在许多方面，与此过程相比， in vivo. 我们的工作假设是，这些差异是在 许多情况下，由于缺乏重要的文化， 增长因素，并通过重新提供缺失的因素， 赤字是可以弥补的。 这些系统的第二个关键特征 相关的检测方法是， 信息，通常在单个少突胶质细胞的水平上。 它 预计这些数据将有助于我们了解 少突胶质细胞分化，从而提供线索， 对髓鞘形成、维持和 在正常和患病状态下的髓鞘再生。

The formation of the myelin sheath by oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system is a complex development process with numerous intermediate steps. Programmed myelin gene expression is regulated both by genetic factors intrinsic to these cells, and by environmental influences encountered as the cells migrate considerable distances from their sites of embryological origin to their final functional target locations. This project aims to increase our understanding of extrinsic factors that are involved in the regulation of oligodendrocyte differentiation and myelin formation and maintenance. The study will use several model systems and assay techniques to address this question at several stages of the overall process of myelinogenesis. One key ingredient in these experiments is our observation that although the culture systems carry out myelinogenesis remarkably normally in many respects, there are differences compared to this process in vivo. Our working hypothesis is that these differences are in many cases due to the absence in the cultures of important growth factor, and that by re-supplying the missing factors, the deficits can be corrected. A second key feature of these systems and the related assays is that they provide quantitative information, often at the level of individual oligodendrocytes. It is expected that these data will contribute to our understanding of oligodendrocyte differentition, thereby providing clues to processes critical to myelin formation, maintenance, and remyelination in both the normal and diseased state.