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The role of oligodendrocyte precursor cells in immunoregulation

CHEN Xiang^1,2, HE Cheng¹, LIU Peng^1,*

¹Key Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology of Ministry of Education, Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China；²Clinical Lab, the 903rd Hospital of PLA, Hangzhou 310013, China

Abstract

Oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) are recognized as the progenitors responsible for the generation of oligodendrocytes, which play a critical role in myelination of central nervous system. In addition, in demyelinating diseases, such as brain trauma, ischemia, and multiple sclerosis, OPCs are also found in demyelinated regions, but fail to differentiate into mature oligodendrocytes and remyelinate. From traditional view, OPC is victim of immune response. However, recent studies have shed light on immune associated OPCs (imOPCs), which are induced by interferon γ (IFN-γ), and interleukin 17 (IL-17), and are involved in the innate and adaptive immune activation. By expressing multiple natural immune pattern recognition receptors, such as Toll-like receptors, imOPCs can phagocytose myelin debris for antigen presentation. Furthermore, imOPCs can also secrete various inflammatory and chemotactic factors to regulate the differentiation of Th0 cells and the recruitment of NK cells, granulocytes and macrophages. Thus, it is of great importance to explore the immunoregulatory function of OPCs to elucidate the mechanisms and treatments of demyelinating diseases.

Key words: oligodendrocyte precursor cells; neuroimmunity; immunoregulation; inflammatory response; antigen presentation

Received: 　　Accepted:

Corresponding author: 刘鹏　　E-mail:

Citing This Article：

CHEN Xiang, HE Cheng, LIU Peng. The role of oligodendrocyte precursor cells in immunoregulation. Acta Physiol Sin 2024; 76 (5): 743-751 (in Chinese with English abstract).