Sox2 Sustains Recruitment of Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cells following CNS Demyelination and Primes Them for Differentiation during Remyelination

Abstract

Understanding the mechanisms of CNS remyelination is central to developing effective means by which this process can be therapeutically enhanced in chronic demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis. In this study, we describe the role of Sox2, a transcription factor widely implicated in stem cell biology, in CNS myelination and remyelination. We show how Sox2 is expressed in oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) preparing to undergo differentiation, allowing them to undergo proliferation and priming them for subsequent differentiation. Although Sox2 is unlikely to be a direct therapeutic target, these data nevertheless provide more information on how OPC differentiation is controlled and therefore enriches our understanding of this important CNS regenerative process.