TY  - JOUR
A1  - Tiane, Assia
A1  - Schepers, Melissa
A1  - Rombaut, Ben
A1  - Hupperts, Raymond
A1  - Prickaerts, Jos
A1  - Hellings, Niels
A1  - van den Hove, Daniel
A1  - Vanmierlo, Tim
T1  - From OPC to oligodendrocyte: an epigenetic journey
JF  - Cells
N2  - Oligodendrocytes provide metabolic and functional support to neuronal cells, rendering them key players in the functioning of the central nervous system. Oligodendrocytes need to be newly formed from a pool of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs). The differentiation of OPCs into mature and myelinating cells is a multistep process, tightly controlled by spatiotemporal activation and repression of specific growth and transcription factors. While oligodendrocyte turnover is rather slow under physiological conditions, a disruption in this balanced differentiation process, for example in case of a differentiation block, could have devastating consequences during ageing and in pathological conditions, such as multiple sclerosis. Over the recent years, increasing evidence has shown that epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and microRNAs, are major contributors to OPC differentiation. In this review, we discuss how these epigenetic mechanisms orchestrate and influence oligodendrocyte maturation. These insights are a crucial starting point for studies that aim to identify the contribution of epigenetics in demyelinating diseases and may thus provide new therapeutic targets to induce myelin repair in the long run.
KW  - oligodendrocyte
KW  - epigenetics
KW  - myelination
Y1  - 2019
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-193267
SN  - 2073-4409
VL  - 8
IS  - 10
ER  -