title: Myelin regeneration: a recapitulation of development?
abstract: The developmental process of myelination and the adult regenerative process of remyelination share the common objective of investing nerve axons with myelin sheaths. A central question in myelin biology is the extent to which the mechanisms of these two processes are conserved, a concept encapsulated in the recapitulation hypothesis of remyelination. This question also has relevance for translating myelin biology into a better understanding of and eventual treatments for human myelin disorders. Here we review the current evidence for the recapitulation hypothesis and discuss recent findings in the development and regeneration of myelin in the context of human neurological disease.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pediatrics and Neurosurgery, Eli and Edyth Broad Institute for Stem Cell Research and Regeneration Medicine and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen P J
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Fancy
authors.forename: Jonah R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Sergio E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Baranzini
authors.forename: Robin J M
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Franklin
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Rowitch
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning / Q000502:physiology; D003711:Demyelinating Diseases / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D056784:Leukoencephalopathies / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008954:Models, Biological; D009186:Myelin Sheath / Q000502:physiology*; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D009836:Oligodendroglia / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology