Delineating Oligodendrocyte (Central Nervous System, CNS, glial cell) development in the absence of Nf1
Some of the non-tumor problems of NF1 patients, such as learning disabilities, hydrocephaly and UBOs (unindentifed bright objects identified by MRIs though to represent areas of hyper-mylenation), have led us in collaboration with Tilat Rizvi, PhD to discover the abnormalities of oligodendrocyte development in the NF1 mouse models. Oligodendrocytes myelinate the axons in the CNS, providing an increased conductivity for the electrical nerve impulses traveling through the axons. Examining how oligodedrocytes develop may provide potential therapies not only for NF1 patients, but also Multiple Schlorosis patients (a disease in which axons become de-mylenated).
A. Photomicrograph of a section from adult Nf1/+/- brain. The section is immunostained with NG2, a marker for oligodendrocyte progenitor cells.
B. Cultures of Oligodentrocyte progenitor cells (OPC). Although the same number of cells from spinal cord cultures were plated, more OPCs are present in cords lacking NF1.
Bennett, M, T Rizvi, S Karyala, R McKinnon, and N Ratner. Aberrant growth and differentiation of oligodendrocyte progenitors in neurofibromatosis type 1 mutants. J Neurosci. 2003 Aug 6;23(18):7207-17.
