Oligodendrocytes are nessessary for the development of in vitro disease models in order to investgate neurodegenerative diseases such as frontotemporal dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis. The cells derive from patients suffering from these diseases. They are first converted into induced pluripotent stem cells, with which the desired nerve cells such as neurons of the cerebral cortex, dopaminergic or motor neurons, astrocytes, microglia as well as oligodendrocytes can be produced.

Oligodendrocytes regulate the production of myelin in the central nervous system, which serve as an isolation layer for most nerve cells of vertebrates. It is a biomembrane with a lipid/protein content of 70:30. Olidendrocytes also provide the nerve cells with nutrients. A defect of this cell type leads to neurodegenerative diseases.

The researchers have published their work in the journal Stem Cell Reports:
Juan Antonio García-León, Manoj Kumar, Ruben Boon, David Chau, Jennifer One, Esther Wolfs, Kristel Eggermont, Pieter Berckmans, Nilhan Gunhanlar, Femke de Vrij, Bas Lendemeijer, Benjamin Pavie, Nikky Corthout, Steven A. Kushner, José Carlos Dávila, Ivo Lambricht, Wei-Shou Hu & Catherine M. Verfaillie (2018): SOX10 Single Transcription Factor-Based Fast and Efficient Generation of Oligodendrocytes from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells. Stem Cell Reports 10:1-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stemcr.2017.12.014

Source:
https://nieuws.kuleuven.be/en/content/2018/stem-cell-researchers-develop-new-method-to-study-neurodegenerative-diseases-in-the-lab