Modulating myelination: knowing when to say Wnt
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90033, USA
Abstract
Balancing extrinsic and intrinsic cues plays an integral part in shaping the complex architecture of the nervous system. During development, oligodendrocyte precursor cells integrate environmental signals and coordinate the activation of the transcriptional machinery necessary for differentiation and myelination. In this issue of Genes & Development, Fancy and colleagues (pp. 1571–1585) demonstrate that canonical Wnt signaling contributes to the decision of an oligodendrocyte precursor cell to differentiate—both during development and after demyelination. These findings provide new insight into the precise spatiotemporal coordination required for oligodendrocyte development.
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↵1 Corresponding author.
E-MAIL: jonah.chan{at}usc.edu; FAX: (323) 442-2448.
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Article is online at http://www.genesdev.org/cgi/doi/10.1101/gad.1824009.
- Copyright © 2009 by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
