Neurodegenerative disease: Oligodendrocyte loss in ALS.

摘要

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) involves the progressive degeneration of motor neurons, but the disease also seems to involve glial cells such as oligodendrocytes and their precursors. Kang et al. now show that there is extensive degeneration of grey matter oligodendrocytes in the spinal cord of the superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) mouse model of ALS; although there is also increased proliferation and differentiation of oligodendrocyte precursors, these cells fail to mature into functioning oligodendrocytes.