Open AccessPushing myelination: developmental regulation of myosin expression drives oligodendrocyte morphological differentiation
Author(s) -
Helena S. Domingues,
Mateusz M. Urbanski,
Sandra Macedo-Ribeiro,
Amr Almaktari,
Azka Irfan,
Yamely Hernandez,
Haibo Wang,
João B. Relvas,
Boris Rubinstein,
Carmen V. MelendezVasquez,
Inês Mendes Pinto
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of cell science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.384
H-Index - 278
eISSN - 1477-9137
pISSN - 0021-9533
DOI - 10.1242/jcs.232264
Subject(s) - biology , oligodendrocyte , myelin , myosin , neuroscience , microbiology and biotechnology , actin , central nervous system
Oligodendrocytes are the central nervous system myelin-forming cells providing axonal electrical insulation and higher order neuronal circuitry. The mechanical forces driving oligodendrocyte precursor cells differentiation into myelinating oligodendrocytes are largely unknown but likely require the spatiotemporal regulation of the architecture and dynamics of the actin and actomyosin cytoskeletons. In this study, we analyzed the expression pattern of myosin motors during oligodendrocyte development. We report that oligodendrocyte differentiation is regulated by the synchronized expression and non-uniform distribution of several members of the myosin network, particularly non-muscle myosins 2B and 2C, that potentially operate as nanomechanical modulators of cell tension and myelin membrane expansion at different cell stages.