Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 10, 2026

08:57
Experimental Demyelination and Remyelination of Murine Spinal Cord by Focal Injection of Lysolecithin
Published on: March 26, 2015
Remyelination: the true regeneration of the central nervous system
A H Crawford1, C Chambers, R J M Franklin
1Wellcome Trust-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ES, UK. ahc33@cam.ac.uk
Journal of Comparative Pathology
|July 9, 2013
Summary
Remyelination repairs damaged myelin in the central nervous system (CNS). Enhancing this natural repair process may prevent neurological decline in demyelinating diseases.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cell Biology
- Regenerative Medicine
Background:
- Myelin sheath, produced by oligodendrocytes, is vital for neuronal function and axon survival in the CNS.
- Remyelination, the repair of myelin damage, is a natural CNS response involving oligodendrocyte precursor cells.
- Remyelination efficiency declines with age and fails in diseases like multiple sclerosis, leading to neurodegeneration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the process of remyelination and the cellular mechanisms involved.
- To understand the reasons for remyelination failure in aging and disease.
- To identify therapeutic targets for enhancing remyelination and preventing neurological decline.
Main Methods:
- The study focuses on the biological processes of remyelination, not specific experimental methods.
- It reviews the roles of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) in proliferation, migration, and differentiation.
- The abstract implies a review or synthesis of existing knowledge on remyelination mechanisms.
Main Results:
- Oligodendrocyte precursor cells are activated by myelin injury, leading to remyelination.
- Remyelination reconstructs areas of myelin loss, but this capacity diminishes with age and disease.
- Failure in remyelination compromises neuronal function and survival, causing progressive neurological deterioration.
Conclusions:
- Understanding remyelination is crucial for developing therapies against chronic demyelinating diseases.
- Targeting remyelination processes could prevent neurological decline associated with myelin loss.
- Advances in understanding remyelination bring effective therapeutic strategies closer to reality.
Related Concept Videos
Neurogenesis and Regeneration of Nervous Tissue
In the CNS, neurogenesis, the birth of new neurons from stem cells, is limited to the hippocampus in adults. In other regions of the brain and spinal cord, neurogenesis is almost non-existent due to inhibitory influences from neuroglia, especially oligodendrocytes, and the absence of growth-stimulating cues. The myelin produced by oligodendrocytes in the CNS inhibits neuronal regeneration. Furthermore, astrocytes proliferate rapidly after neuronal damage, forming scar tissue that physically...
Nervous Tissue: Myelin
The myelin sheath is a multilayered lipid and protein covering that insulates the axon of a neuron, enhancing the speed of nerve impulse conduction. Axons without this sheath are referred to as unmyelinated. Two types of neuroglia, Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system (CNS) are responsible for producing myelin sheaths.
Schwann cells begin to form myelin sheaths around axons during fetal development. They wrap around a small...
Schwann cells begin to form myelin sheaths around axons during fetal development. They wrap around a small...
Neurulation
Neurulation is the embryological process which forms the precursors of the central nervous system and occurs after gastrulation has established the three primary cell layers of the embryo: ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. In humans, the majority of this system is formed via primary neurulation, in which the central portion of the ectoderm—originally appearing as a flat sheet of cells—folds upwards and inwards, sealing off to form a hollow neural tube. As development proceeds, the anterior...
Whole Body Regeneration
Regeneration is the process of restoring injured or lost tissues, organs, or body parts. While simpler organisms generally show greater ability to regenerate their whole body, few complex animals show similarly exceptional regeneration. For example, planarian flatworms have a unique regenerative potential making them a popular study organism among biologists to understand the mechanisms of whole body regeneration. Other organisms, such as hydra, also show extreme regeneration potential; even...
Neuroplasticity
Neuroplasticity reflects the brain's remarkable capacity to adapt and evolve, responding dynamically to learning, experiences, or injury by reorganizing its neural circuitry. This reorganization involves creating new neural connections and refining old ones through a series of biological processes that contribute to the brain's lifelong development and adaptability.