Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 16, 2026

11:11
Preparation of Rat Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cultures and Quantification of Oligodendrogenesis Using Dual-infrared Fluorescence Scanning
Published on: February 17, 2016
TRPM3 is expressed in sphingosine-responsive myelinating oligodendrocytes
Anja Hoffmann1, Christian Grimm, Robert Kraft
1Zelluläre Neurowissenschaften, Max-Delbrück-Centrum, Berlin, Germany.
Journal of Neurochemistry
|February 19, 2010
Summary
Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin 3 (TRPM3) channels are found in oligodendrocytes, the cells responsible for myelin formation in the central nervous system (CNS). This discovery reveals TRPM3
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cell Biology
- Channel Physiology
Background:
- Oligodendrocytes are crucial for central nervous system (CNS) nerve conduction via myelin formation.
- Sphingosine, a myelin component, activates the TRPM3 channel.
- TRPM3 channel expression in the brain is known, but its specific cell distribution remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the cellular localization of TRPM3 channels in the CNS.
- To investigate the role of TRPM3 in oligodendrocyte differentiation and CNS myelination.
Main Methods:
- Immunohistochemistry on adult rat brain slices.
- Analysis of TRPM3 expression during oligodendrocyte development in vitro.
- Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for TRPM3 splice variants.
- Calcium (Ca2+) imaging in oligodendrocytes.
Main Results:
- TRPM3 channels are expressed in oligodendrocytes both in vitro and in vivo.
- TRPM3 expression is developmentally regulated, appearing on oligodendrocytes after myelination onset.
- Oligodendrocytes exhibit sphingosine-induced Ca2+ entry with a profile matching heterologously expressed TRPM3.
Conclusions:
- TRPM3 channels are localized to oligodendrocytes in the CNS.
- TRPM3 functions as a sphingosine-activated, Ca2+-permeable channel involved in oligodendrocyte differentiation.
- TRPM3 plays a role in CNS myelination.