Oligodendrocyte precursors migrate along vasculature in the developing nervous system

TLDR

Neuronal migrations in the developing brain follow vascular pathways, and oligodendrocyte precursors travel farther than many other cell types to form insulating sheaths that accelerate axonal signal transmission. The study demonstrates how oligodendrocyte precursor cells navigate along vascular pathways. Oligodendrocyte precursors migrate along endothelial cells, and disrupting endothelial cells impairs this migration, causing regions of the brain to lack proper insulation. Tsai et al., Science, this issue p.

Abstract

Neuronal migrations follow vascular pathways In the developing brain, various types of cells migrate from their birthplaces to their workplaces. Oligodendrocyte precursors, which develop to form the insulating sheaths that make signal transmission along an axon faster, travel farther than many. Tsai et al. now show just how the oligodendrocyte precursor cells find their way (see the Perspective by Dejana and Beltsholtz). The progenitor cells follow along the endothelial cells of the vasculature. Disrupting endothelial cells interfered with oligodendrocyte migration, leaving some sections of the brain deficient in insulators. Science , this issue p. 379 ; see also p. 341