School of Medicine and Health Sciences Poster Presentations

Ablating Oligodendrocytes in the Optic Nerve as a Model to Study Demyelination

Poster Number

272

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

3-2016

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS) resulting in permanent neurological deficits. MS is characterized by inflammation and infiltration of the immune cells into the CNS and loss of oligodendrocytes (OLs) and myelination of axons resulting in the creation of multiple plaques in the white matter tracts. One of the first and most common clinical manifestations in MS patients is optic neuritis characterized by inflammation and demyelination of the optic nerve. The pathology of MS and optic neuritis is complex. It is unclear whether inflammation is a primary cause or a consequence of OL and myelin loss and whether the loss of axonal communication is due to inflammation or demyelination. Furthermore, the effects of demyelination on neuronal viability are unknown. To address these issues, a transgenic mouse line (MBP-iCP9) was created, in which apoptosis can be experimentally triggered using Chemical Inducer of Dimerization (CID)in mature OLs expressing myelin basic protein (MBP) without directly affecting other CNS cell types. In this study, intravitreal injection was utilized to deliver CID to the vitreous of MBP-iCP9 transgenic mice 2 weeks after birth. Our data shows that CID injection results in OL apoptosis and myelin disruption that is absent in wildtype littermates. Future studies will determine whether OL apoptosis and myelin loss would lead to inflammation, axonal damage, and retinal ganglion cell loss.

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Presented at: GW Research Days 2016

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Ablating Oligodendrocytes in the Optic Nerve as a Model to Study Demyelination

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS) resulting in permanent neurological deficits. MS is characterized by inflammation and infiltration of the immune cells into the CNS and loss of oligodendrocytes (OLs) and myelination of axons resulting in the creation of multiple plaques in the white matter tracts. One of the first and most common clinical manifestations in MS patients is optic neuritis characterized by inflammation and demyelination of the optic nerve. The pathology of MS and optic neuritis is complex. It is unclear whether inflammation is a primary cause or a consequence of OL and myelin loss and whether the loss of axonal communication is due to inflammation or demyelination. Furthermore, the effects of demyelination on neuronal viability are unknown. To address these issues, a transgenic mouse line (MBP-iCP9) was created, in which apoptosis can be experimentally triggered using Chemical Inducer of Dimerization (CID)in mature OLs expressing myelin basic protein (MBP) without directly affecting other CNS cell types. In this study, intravitreal injection was utilized to deliver CID to the vitreous of MBP-iCP9 transgenic mice 2 weeks after birth. Our data shows that CID injection results in OL apoptosis and myelin disruption that is absent in wildtype littermates. Future studies will determine whether OL apoptosis and myelin loss would lead to inflammation, axonal damage, and retinal ganglion cell loss.