Anti-reovirus receptor antibody accelerates expression of the optic nerve oligodendrocyte developmental program

Previous studies showed that the cell-surface receptor for reovirus serotype 3 (Reo3R) appears at an early stage of oligodendrocyte differentiation and that anti-Reo3R antibodies and Reo3R-binding peptides induce galactocerebroside expression by developing oligodendrocytes. In the present studies, anti-Reo3R antibodies are shown to stimulate additional features of the program of oligodendrocyte development, including the loss of the A2B5 marker and expression of myelin basic protein. In anti-Reo3R antibody-treated cultures, galactocerebroside was expressed by cells having the morphology of immature oligodendrocyte precursors. Reo3R binding did not appear directly to inhibit or stimulate proliferation of glial progenitor cells or to affect their lineage commitment. Cell-surface structures utilized as a receptor by reovirus type 3 appear to play a role in the regulation of the initiation or rate of execution of the oligodendrocyte developmental program.