Exploring oligodendrocyte guidance: 'to boldly go where no cell has gone before'

Oligodendrocytes, the myelinating cells of the central nervous system (CNS), originate early in the formation of the brain in specific foci, and migrate throughout the parenchyma. The instructional cues guiding the migration of these progenitor cells must be encoded into their developing environment. Soluble factors as well as membrane-bound cues most likely synergize to create a complex thoroughfare needed to sculpt and organize the brain into a functional organ with white and gray matter. Classically, the focus of many guidance related studies in the CNS has been limited to neuron physiology. However, It is becoming increasingly clear that their lifelong partners, oligodendrocytes, express both ligands and receptors able to both present and respond to these classical cues. In this short review, some recent findings in the Semaphorin and Eph fields will be presented with respect to oligodendrocyte expression and function.