title: Taking Advantage of Nature's Gift: Can Endogenous Neural Stem Cells Improve Myelin Regeneration?
abstract: Irreversible functional deficits in multiple sclerosis (MS) are directly correlated to axonal damage and loss. Neurodegeneration results from immune-mediated destruction of myelin sheaths and subsequent axonal demyelination. Importantly, oligodendrocytes, the myelinating glial cells of the central nervous system, can be replaced to some extent to generate new myelin sheaths. This endogenous regeneration capacity has so far mainly been attributed to the activation and recruitment of resident oligodendroglial precursor cells. As this self-repair process is limited and increasingly fails while MS progresses, much interest has evolved regarding the development of remyelination-promoting strategies and the presence of alternative cell types, which can also contribute to the restoration of myelin sheaths. The adult brain comprises at least two neurogenic niches harboring life-long adult neural stem cells (NSCs). An increasing number of investigations are beginning to shed light on these cells under pathological conditions and revealed a significant potential of NSCs to contribute to myelin repair activities. In this review, these emerging investigations are discussed with respect to the importance of stimulating endogenous repair mechanisms from germinal sources. Moreover, we present key findings of NSC-derived oligodendroglial progeny, including a comprehensive overview of factors and mechanisms involved in this process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany. Rainer.Akkermann@med.uni-duesseldorf.de.
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Akkermann
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany. janusz.jadasz@uni-duesseldorf.de.
authors.forename: Janusz Joachim
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Jadasz
authors.affiliation: Focus Translational Neuroscience, Institute of Physiological Chemistry, University of Mainz, 55122 Mainz, Germany. kasumazim@googlemail.com.
authors.forename: Kasum
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Azim
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany. kuery@uni-duesseldorf.de.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Küry
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D009186:Myelin Sheath / Q000502:physiology*; D009416:Nerve Regeneration; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology* / Q000637:transplantation; D044968:Regenerative Medicine
keywords: adult neural stem cells; cell fate determination; differentiation; glia; multiple sclerosis; oligodendrocytes; precursor cells; remyelination; white matter