title: The axo-myelinic synapse.
abstract: Axons have evolved to acquire myelination, enabling denser packing and speedier transmission. Although myelin is considered a passive insulator, recent reports suggest a more dynamic role. Axons, in turn, are endowed with neurotransmitter release and uptake systems along their trunks. Based on these observations, I argue that there may exist a new type of chemical synapse between axon and myelin, one that supports activity-dependent communication between the two. This raises intriguing possibilities of dynamic fine-tuning of the myelin sheath even in adulthood, efficient recruitment of resources for myelin maintenance and bi-directional signaling, whereby the axon informs its myelinating cell of its metabolic needs proportionally to the electrical traffic it is transmitting. This would also have implications for de- and dysmyelinating diseases should this axo-myelinic synapse become dysfunctional.
authors: Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada. pstys@ucalgary.ca
authors: Peter K
authors: PK
authors: Stys
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D003711:Demyelinating Diseases / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009186:Myelin Sheath / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter / Q000378:metabolism; D013569:Synapses / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter