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Progress in metabolism and function of myelin lipids

LI Zheng-Hao¹, LU Feng-Feng², SHAO Qi¹, ZHU Mei², Cao Li^1,*

¹Institute of Neuroscience and Key Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology of Ministry of Education, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China；²Institute of Health Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China

Abstract

Myelin is a highly specialized membrane structure, wrapping around the axons. It is essential for the protection of axons, insulation and maintenance of the saltatory conduction of the action potential. Myelin membrane is rich in lipids, however, the lipid composition varies significantly from other biological membranes. Since myelination requires extraordinarily high level of lipid synthesis, the integrity of myelin is susceptible to numerous lipid metabolism disorders. Studies on transgenic mice targeting key molecules of various lipid biosynthesis pathways have elucidated the lipid metabolism and functions of myelin. Besides, myelinating glial cells have a remarkable capacity to take up extracellular lipids, which also contributes to myelination. Therefore, understanding the metabolism and functions of myelin lipids will help us to understand the role of lipids in myelin damage-related diseases and provide novel strategies for the treatment of demyelinating diseases. In this paper, some progresses in metabolism and functions of myelin lipids are reviewed.

Key words: myelin; lipids ; lipid metabolism ; lipid metabolism disorders

Received: 2017-04-05　　Accepted: 2017-11-06

Corresponding author: 曹莉　　E-mail: caoli@smmu.edu.cn

DOI: 10.13294/j.aps.2017.0083

Citing This Article：

LI Zheng-Hao, LU Feng-Feng, SHAO Qi, ZHU Mei, Cao Li. Progress in metabolism and function of myelin lipids. Acta Physiol Sin 2017; 69 (6): 817-829 (in Chinese with English abstract).