Oligodendrocytes and the axon myelin unit

摘要

In the rodent central nervous system (CNS), myelin is formed by oligodendrocytes that are derived from morphologically complex precursor cells (oligodendrocyte precursor cells or NG2 cells); the function of these is not well understood. Successive stages of oligodendrocyte precursor cell (OPC) differentiation can be visualized in situ followingthe injection of lucifer-yellow dye (LY; see bottom image, adapted from ref. 84).