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Updated: Jun 30, 2026

Production and Use of Lentivirus to Selectively Transduce Primary Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells for In Vitro Myelination Assays
Published on: January 12, 2015
bHLH transcription factor Olig1 is required to repair demyelinated lesions in the CNS
Heather A Arnett1, Stephen P J Fancy, John A Alberta
1Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Abstract:
Olig1 and Olig2 are closely related basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors that are expressed in myelinating oligodendrocytes and their progenitor cells in the developing central nervous system (CNS). Olig2 is necessary for the specification of oligodendrocytes, but the biological functions of Olig1 during oligodendrocyte lineage development are poorly understood. We show here that Olig1 function in mice is required not to develop the brain but to repair it. Specifically, we demonstrate a genetic requirement for Olig1 in repairing the types of lesions that occur in patients with multiple sclerosis.

