Mitogen-activated protein kinase signalling in oligodendrocytes: a comparison of primary cultures and CG-4

Oligodendrocytes play a significant role in the central nervous system, as these cells an responsible fur myelinating axons and allowing for the efficient conduction of nerve impulses. Therefore, any understanding we can gain about the functional biology of oligodendrocytes will give us important insights: into demyelinating diseases: such as multiple sclerosis were oligodendrocytes and myelin are damaged or destroyed. Currently, much attention has focussed on the role of a family of mitogen-actic activated protein kinases in OL. This kinase family includes the extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases (ERKs), the stress-activated c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and the 38 kDa high osmolarity glycerol response kinase (p38). The actions of mitogen-activated protein kinases in oligodendrocytes appear to range from proliferation and cell survival to differentiation and cell death. In the past, studies on oligodendrocytes have been hampered by the difficulties inherent in producing large enough quantities of these cells for experimentation. This problem al ises in large part due to the post-mitotic nature of mature oligodendrocytes. Over the years, a cell line known as Central Glia-4 (CG-4) has become a popular oligodendrocyte model due to its: potentially unlimited capacity fur self-renewal. In this review, we will look at the suitability of the Central Glia-4 cell line as: an oligodendrocyte model, specifically in respect to studies on mitogen-activated protein kinase signalling in oligodendrocytes. (C) 2001 ISDN. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.