The GPR17 receptor in oligodendroglial cells: cell heterogeneity, maturation and participation in CNS damage

The GPR17 receptor, which is activated by damage-related and inflammatory molecules ?both uracil nucleotides and cysteinyl-leukotrienes, was recently shown to be expressed by oligodendroglial cells (OCs) and to modulate their differentiation in vivo and in vitro. However, it was not clearly resolved which OC developmental stages are marked by this receptor in vivo, or whether all OCs undergo a GPR17-positive (+) phase. Perchè non citi il ruolo nell’attivazione della risposta acuta di opc al danno?forse è più adeguato dare questo taglio all’abstract In this study, we analyzed the distribution and the phenotype of GPR17+ OCs in the postnatal and adult mouse cerebral cortex in the intact and injured (traumatic lesion, chronic amyloidosis and focal demyelination) brain. We observed that distinct GPR17 protein localisations and levels define different stages of OC maturation ranging from the precursor to the pre-myelinating phases. Fate-mapping analyses suggest that, in both the postnatal and adult cortex, only a fraction of newly generated OCs transiently upregulates GPR17 during their maturation, identifying GPR17 as a possible marker for OC heterogeneity. Importantly, GPR17+ OCs take part in the nervous tissue reaction to damage at post acute stages, suggesting that they may be engaged to potentiate reparative responses by specific pharmacological manipulations.