Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2021, Vol. 16 ›› Issue (2): 291-293.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.290888

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Oligodendrocytes in a dish for the drug discovery pipeline: the risk of oversimplification

Vito Antonio Baldassarro*, Luciana Giardino, Laura Calzà   

  1. Health Science and Technologies Interdepartmental Center for Industrial Research (HST-ICIR), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy (Baldassarro VA, Giardino L, Calzà L)
    Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna; IRET Foundation, Bologna, Italy (Giardino L)
    Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna; Montecatone Rehabilitation Institute, Bologna, Italy (Calzà L)
  • Online:2021-02-15 Published:2020-12-02
  • Contact: Vito Antonio Baldassarro, PhD, vito.baldassarro2@unibo.it.
  • Supported by:
    The authors would like to thank the ARSEP Foundation (Fondation pour l’aide à la recherché sur la sclérose en plaques) for its support in developing the in NSC-derived OPC in vitro systems as part of the “Role of RXRγ in T3-mediated oligodendrocyte differentiation and remyelination” project (to LC and VAB) and fellowship (to VAB).

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Abstract: Myelination, remyelination and demyelination: modeling the in vitro drug discovery pipeline: Demyelination is a multifactorial event occurring in diseases primarily involving myelin forming cells (oligodendrocytes, OLs) and their precursors (oligodendrocyte precursor cells, OPCs) such as multiple sclerosis, but is also involved in the pathology of other central nervous system (CNS) injuries and diseases, such as neonatal encephalopathy, brain and spinal cord injury, and Alzheimer’s disease. In numerous conditions, myelin repair occurs spontaneously, leading to anatomical and functional restitution. Many pathological mechanisms, however, may interfere with both developmental myelination, which occurs during late gestation and post-natal periods, and myelin replacement/repair (remyelination) which occurs in the adult CNS (Butt et al., 2019), and which can lead to the failure of myelination/remyelination. Improvement of endogenous myelin forming/repair capability is currently a recognized therapeutic target in demyelinating injuries and diseases.