Telomerase and oligodendrocyte differentiation

Myelin in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS) is produced by oligodendrocytes, most of which arise from oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) during late embryonic and early postnatal development. Both external and internal cues have been implicated in regulating OPC exit from the cell cycle and differentiation into oligodendrocytes. In this study, we demonstrate that differentiation of cultured OPCs into mature oligodendrocytes is associated with lower levels of activity of telomerase, the ribonucleoprotein that synthesizes telomeric DNA at the ends of chromosomes. Differentiation is also associated with lower levels of mRNA encoding the catalytic subunit of telomerase (TERT), whereas no difference is seen in the expression of its telomeric template RNA component (TR). These data suggest a possible role for telomerase during normal growth and differentiation of oligodendrocytes that may be relevant to the mechanism of myelination in the CNS.