aurapten and Demyelinating-Diseases

We investigated the effects of auraptene on mouse oligodendroglial cell lineage in an animal model of demyelination induced by cuprizone. Auraptene, a citrus coumarin, was intraperitoneally administered to mice fed the demyelinating agent cuprizone. Immunohistochemical analysis of the corpus callosum and/or Western blotting analysis of brain extracts revealed that cuprizone reduced immunoreactivity for myelin-basic protein, a marker of myelin, whereas it increased immunoreactivity to platelet derived-growth factor receptor-α, a marker of oligodendrocyte precursor cells. Administration of auraptene enhanced the immunoreactivity to oligodendrocyte transcription factor 2, a marker of oligodendrocyte precursor cells and oligodendrocyte lineage precursor cells, but had no effect on immunoreactivity to myelin-basic protein or platelet-derived growth factor receptor-α. These findings suggest that auraptene promotes the production of oligodendrocyte lineage precursor cells in an animal model of demyelination and may be useful for individuals with demyelinating diseases.

Topics: Animals; Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors; Brain; Coumarins; Cuprizone; Demyelinating Diseases; Disease Models, Animal; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; Gene Expression; Injections, Intraperitoneal; Male; Mice, 129 Strain; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Microglia; Myelin Basic Protein; Nerve Tissue Proteins; Neuroprotective Agents; Oligodendrocyte Transcription Factor 2; Oligodendroglia; Receptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor alpha; Stem Cells