CONVERSION OF OLIGODERNDROCYTE TO NEURONS
Conversion of purified
oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) to neural stem cells requires chromatin
remodelling and histone modification. This is what emerges from a research
conducted by Kondo and Raff who analysed the molecular mechanism that underlie
the conversion of OPCs to neural stem-like cells (NSLCs).
NSLCs can generate both
neurons and glia, so they could provide a source of neurons for CNS
repair.
The research shows that
OPCs conversion depends on the reactivation of Sox2 gene expression, which in
turn depends on chromatin remodelling at the Sox2 promoter (Kondo T. & Raff
M., Chromatin remodelling and histone modification in the conversion of
oligodendrocyte precursors to neural stem cells. Genes Dev. 18, 2963-2972,
2004).