Oligodendrocytes and axon interaction

髓鞘是脊椎动物神经系统中含量最丰富的膜结构之一。它是由两种特殊的胶质细胞产生的，一种是中枢神经系统中的少突胶质细胞，另一种是周围神经系统中的雪旺细胞。细胞黏附在髓鞘的形成中起着关键作用。不仅胶质细胞与轴突的特异性相互作用，而且髓鞘各层之间的粘附性相互作用对多层髓鞘的形成也是必不可少的。虽然许多调节三叉神经节中髓鞘形成的轴突信号是已知的，但控制少突胶质细胞在中枢神经系统中的轴突髓鞘形成的因素尚未确定。少突胶质细胞似乎需要独特的、迄今尚未确定的分子来进行轴突和少突胶质细胞的相互作用。因此，本项目的目标是阐明中枢神经系统髓鞘形成的发生和发展的机制。我们计划寻找新的黏附分子来调节少突胶质细胞和轴突的相互作用。我们将使用蛋白质组方法来确定候选分子，表达克隆来确定相互作用伙伴，并在神经元和少突胶质细胞共同培养系统中进行功能分析。此外，我们的目标是确定髓鞘膜各层之间黏附相互作用的机制。

The myelin sheath is one of the most abundant membrane structures in the vertebrate nervous sys-tem. It is produced by two types of specialized glial cells, oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system, and Schwann-cells in the peripheral nervous system. Cell adhesion plays a key role in the formation of myelin. Not only the specific interaction of the glial cell with the axon, but also the adhesive interactions of the individual layers of myelin membrane are essential for the generation of the multilamellar myelin sheath. Whereas many of the axonal signals that regulate myelination in the PNS are known, the factors that control myelination of axons in the CNS by oligodendrocytes have not been identified. Oligodendrocytes seem to require unique and so far unidentified molecules for axon and oligodendrocyte interaction. The goal of this project is therefore to elucidate the mechanisms governing the onset and progression of myelination in the CNS. We plan to identify novel adhesion molecules that mediate oligodendrocyte and axon interaction. We will use a proteome approach to identify candidate molecules, expression cloning to determine the interaction partners and perform functional assays in a neuron and oligodendrodyte co-culture system. In addition, we aim at identifying the mechanism underlying the adhesive interactions of the individual layers of myelin membrane.