Excess of Single Transcription Factor Appears to Hinder Myelin Repair by Oligodendrocytes, Study Finds [Multiple Sclerosis News Today]

Fraser J. Sim, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology, showed that unusually high levels of a transcription factor called paired related homeobox protein 1 in human oligodendrocyte progenitor cells hinders their ability to respond to the loss of myelin and to transform into mature, myelin-producing oligodendryocytes, a finding that suggests a new potential way of treating multiple sclerosis. “We found that switching this gene on could cause problems in myelin repair by blocking the proliferation of the oligodendrocyte progenitor cell, the stem cell-like precursor that is responsible for all myelin regeneration in the adult brain,” Sim said.