Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/nrneurol.2010.37?error=cookies_not_supported&code=3ff26c82-7375-4e15-815f-d513556d42df
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 18:43:39+00:00

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Carla Taveggia graduated in biology from the University of Milan, Italy and obtained a Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology from the Open University, London, UK. She undertook postgraduate training at the New York University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA, where she was a National Multiple Sclerosis Society Post-Graduate Fellow. She was recently awarded a career transition award from Fondazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla, Italy and moved to San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy, where she is Head of the Axo–Glial Interaction Unit. She is interested in understanding the axonal mechanisms regulating myelination in the nervous system.
M. Laura Feltri graduated in medicine and surgery from the University of Milan, Italy, where she subsequently completed a residency in neurology. She trained as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Departments of Neurology of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. She is now at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan, Italy, where she is Head of the Neuro Glia Unit. She has contributed to understanding the role of extracellular matrix receptors and their signaling in development and disease of myelinating glia.
Lawrence Wrabetz graduated in Medicine from the University of Chicago, IL, USA and completed a residency in neurology, and a Charles A. Dana Neuroscience Fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. He moved to the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan, Italy, where he is currently Head of the Myelin Biology Unit. He has studied the transcriptional targets of axonal signals in myelinating glia, and the pathogenesis of related hereditary demyelinating neuropathies for the past 25 years.
The myelin sheath wraps large axons in both the CNS and the PNS, and is a key determinant of efficient axonal function and health. Myelin is targeted in a series of diseases, notably multiple sclerosis (MS). In MS, demyelination is associated with progressive axonal damage, which determines the level of patient disability. The few treatments that are available for combating myelin damage in MS and related disorders, which largely comprise anti-inflammatory drugs, only show limited efficacy in subsets of patients. More-effective treatment of myelin disorders will probably be accomplished by early intervention with combinatorial therapies that target inflammation and other processes—for example, signaling pathways that promote remyelination. Indeed, evidence suggests that such pathways might be impaired in pathology and, hence, contribute to the failure of remyelination in such diseases. In this article, we review the molecular basis of signaling pathways that regulate myelination in the CNS and PNS, with a focus on signals that affect differentiation of myelinating glia. We also discuss factors such as extracellular molecules that act as modulators of these pathways. Finally, we consider the few preclinical and clinical trials of agents that augment this signaling.
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Work in the laboratories of C. Taveggia, M. L. Feltri and L. Wrabetz is supported by grants from Fondazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla, Italy; Telethon, Italy; Compagnia di San Paolo, Italy; Fondazione Mariani, Italy; the NIH, USA; and the European Union. We apologize to colleagues whose relevant work we were unable to cite because of space limitations.

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