Oxymatrine possibly inhibits differentiation and maturation of oligodendrocytes in the remyelination of the toxin-induced demyelination animal model

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by demyelination. In demyelinated MS lesions, the recruitment, differentiation, and maturation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) into oligodendrocytes (OLGs) are inhibited, leading to remyelination failure. Promoting OLG differentiation and maturation has emerged as a promising strategy for enhancing remyelination in MS. Here, we investigated whether Oxymatrine (OMT), a pharmacologically active compound derived from the traditional Chinese herb Sophora flavescens, regulates OLG differentiation and maturation, and remyelination. In this study, OMT was applied to OLG cultures in vitro and injected into the corpus callosum of a toxin-induced demyelination rat model in vivo. Our results showed that OMT potentially inhibited OLG maturation in vitro. Furthermore, in the demyelination model, remyelination was possibly impaired, and OLG maturation was likely suppressed by OMT, which possibly is due to OMT-induced apoptosis in OLGs. Although OMT possibly impairs remyelination in this model, the exploration of Chinese herbal compounds for MS therapy remains a novel and promising field for future interventions. These findings underscore the complexity of herbal pharmacology and suggest that compounds like OMT may exert dualistic effects on neurodegeneration depending on disease stage, cellular targets, or microenvironmental cues, warranting cautious translational exploration.