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Oligodendrocyte production and myelin recovery in heterozygous jimpy mice: An autoradiographic study
Author(s) -
Rosenfeld Jeffrey,
Friedrich Victor L.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
international journal of developmental neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.761
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1873-474X
pISSN - 0736-5748
DOI - 10.1016/0736-5748(86)90043-2
Subject(s) - heterozygote advantage , oligodendrocyte , myelin , biology , remyelination , genetics , endocrinology , medicine , allele , central nervous system , gene
Jimpy is a genetic disorder of mouse resulting in hypomyelination. In this study oligodendrocyte proliferation was examined in heterozygous carriers of the jimpy gene. The incorporation of [ 3 H]‐thymidine into DNA is increased in jimpy heterozygotes compared to controls. An autoradiographic analysis indicated that oligodendrocytes are the predominant neuroglial cell type being produced in the brain at the ages studied in both heterozygotes and control animals. In addition, the total number of labeled oligodendrocytes was increased in the heterozygote animals compared to controls. These results, taken together, indicate that the rate of oligodendrocyte production is greater in jimpy heterozygotes than in control animals. We have previously shown that young jimpy heterozygotes have a reduced myelin content and older heterozygotes do not. The increased rate of oligodendrocyte production, demonstrated in this study, is most likely responsible for the increasing myelin content in the heterozygote. Further study of the cellular interactions which trigger oligodendrocyte production and myelin recovery in the jimpy heterozygote may be relevant to remyelination in other disease states, including those affecting humans.