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Focal Adhesion Kinase, A Major Regulator Of Oligodendrocyte Morphological Maturation And Myelination, Audrey Lafrenaye
Focal Adhesion Kinase, A Major Regulator Of Oligodendrocyte Morphological Maturation And Myelination, Audrey Lafrenaye
Theses and Dissertations
The formation of the myelin sheath is a crucial step during development because it enables fast and efficient propagation of signals within the limited space of the mammalian central nervous system. During the process of myelination, oligodendrocytes actively interact with the extracellular matrix (ECM). These interactions are considered crucial for proper and timely completion of the myelin sheath. However, the exact regulatory circuits involved in the signaling events that occur between the ECM and oligodendrocytes are currently not fully understood. Therefore, in this dissertation we investigated the role of a known integrator of cell-ECM signaling, namely, focal adhesion kinase (FAK), …
Autotaxin: A Regulator Of Oligodendrocyte Differentiation, Larra Yuelling
Autotaxin: A Regulator Of Oligodendrocyte Differentiation, Larra Yuelling
Theses and Dissertations
In order for oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) to differentiate into fully mature, myelinating oligodendrocytes, they must be specified at the correct times and undergo coordinated changes in both gene expression and morphology. As oligodendrocytes differentiate, they transition from a bipolar morphology into a morphology characterized by a complex network of multiple processes, which will eventually generate membranous structures necessary for myelination of axonal segments. As changes are observed in cellular morphology, oligodendrocytes also undergo changes in their gene expression profile and express genes necessary for both early and later stages of development such as olig1 and myelin basic protein (mbp), …