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BDNF-TrkB Signaling in Lifelong Central Nervous System Myelination and Myelin Repair

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Handbook of Neurotoxicity

Abstract

Myelin, the lipid membrane that wraps around nerves, is a critical component of the peripheral (PNS) and central nervous systems (CNS) that enables rapid neurotransmission and is critical for brain function, including motor skill acquisition and working memory. In the CNS, myelin acquisition occurs rapidly during development, and myelin sheaths are made by oligodendrocytes in response to a host of extracellular factors, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neuronal activity. BDNF promotes CNS myelination by activating its TrkB receptor expressed by oligodendrocytes, and loss of oligodendrocyte TrkB delays myelin acquisition and reduces myelin sheath thickness. Myelin acquisition continues throughout life, and activity-dependent myelination appears to underpin myelin acquisition in adulthood. As local release of BDNF by neurons occurs in response to neuronal activity, BDNF has been identified as a potential modulator of activity-dependent myelin acquisition in addition to its known developmental effects via oligodendrocyte TrkB. As BDNF-TrkB signaling is a robust potentiator of myelination, it has also been identified as a therapeutic target to promote myelin repair in demyelinating diseases including multiple sclerosis (MS). This chapter summarizes the development of CNS myelination, its importance throughout life, and the role of BDNF-TrkB signaling in myelin development and activity-dependent myelin plasticity. The potential for increasing endogenous BDNF levels or targeting TrkB activation as a therapeutic strategy to promote myelin repair for demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis is also summarized.

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Abbreviations

AMPA:

α-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazoleproprionic acid

APC:

Adenomatous polyposis coli

BDNF HET:

Heterozygous gene deletion of BDNF

BDNF:

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor

CC1:

Antibody clone CC1 against APC

CNPase:

2′3’-Cyclic-nucleotide-3-phosphodiesterase

CNS:

Central nervous system

DHF:

7,8-Dihydroxyflavone

EAE:

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

KO:

Gene knockout /deletion

Kv:

Voltage-gated potassium channel

MAG:

Myelin associated glycoprotein

MAPK-ERK1/2:

Mitogen activated protein kinase-extracellular signal related kinase 1/2

MBP:

Myelin basic protein

mGluR:

Metabotropic glutamate receptor

MOG:

Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein

MS:

Multiple sclerosis

NaV:

Voltage gated sodium channel

NGF:

Nerve growth factor

NMDA:

N-Methyl-D-aspartate

NT3:

Neurotrophin-3

NT4:

Neurotrophin-4

OPC:

Oligodendrocyte progenitor cell

p75NTR:

Pan-neurotrophin receptor p75/nerve growth factor receptor

PDGFRα:

Platelet-derived growth factor receptor-α

PLCγ-PKC:

Phospholipase Cγ-protein kinase C

PLP1:

Proteolipid protein-1

PNS:

Peripheral nervous system

Trk:

Tropomyosin-related kinase

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Acknowledgments

Madeline Nicholson and Georgina A Craig are recipients of Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarships, and Madeline Nicholson, a University of Melbourne STRAPA Scholarship recipient. Sangwon Yoo is a recipient of a University of Melbourne Research Scholarship. This work was supported by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, endorsed by the Department of Defense, USA, through the Multiple Sclerosis Research Program W81XWH-17-MSRP-IIRA under award no. MS170031 to Junhua Xiao and Simon Murray. Opinions, interpretations, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the authors and not necessarily endorsed by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs or Department of Defense (USA). We apologize to our colleagues whose citations were omitted due to space limitations.

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Correspondence to Jessica L. Fletcher .

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Nicholson, M., Yoo, S., Craig, G.A., Murray, S.S., Fletcher, J.L. (2021). BDNF-TrkB Signaling in Lifelong Central Nervous System Myelination and Myelin Repair. In: Kostrzewa, R.M. (eds) Handbook of Neurotoxicity. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71519-9_219-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71519-9_219-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-71519-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-71519-9

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