Myelin sheaths in the central nervous system can withstand damage and dynamically remodel

Myelin damage is a hallmark of several neurological disorders, but how it occurs remains to be fully understood. In this study, we found that early damage in zebrafish and rodent demyelination models is characterized by myelin swelling. We show, through live imaging, that myelin swelling does not always lead to myelin loss and that swellings can sometimes resolve, allowing sheaths to remodel. Increased neuronal activity during early demyelination exacerbates myelin damage, whereas reducing neuronal activity mitigates myelin swelling in both zebrafish and mice. In human multiple sclerosis tissue, myelin swelling is also dynamic and is prominent around active lesions. Our data indicate that myelin swelling is a conserved feature of demyelination and that damage to myelin sheaths can resolve, opening opportunities for targeting human disease.

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Publication Details

Journal
Science
Published
2026-02-12
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adr4661
Primary Topic
Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Myelin sheaths in the central nervous system can withstand damage and dynamically remodel

Daniel Y. H. Soong, Anna Klingseisen, Antonio Luchicchi, Marcus Keatinge et al.
Science
Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms
article

Myelin sheaths in the central nervous system can withstand damage and dynamically remodel

Daniel Y. H. Soong, Anna Klingseisen, Antonio Luchicchi, Marcus Keatinge, Geert J. Schenk, Maarten H. P. Kole, Anna Williams, Claire Richmond, Sarah A. Neely, David A. Lyons, David W. Hampton, Donia Arafa, Philipp N. Braaker, Kieran Higgins, Ben Emery, Marja Main, Niels R. C. Meijns, Siddharthan Chandran, Julia Meng, Julia van de Korput, Eleonora Scalia, Marie Louise Groot, Greg J. Duncan, Kyle Lathem, Katy L. H. Marshall-Phelps
article en

Abstract

Myelin damage is a hallmark of several neurological disorders, but how it occurs remains to be fully understood. In this study, we found that early damage in zebrafish and rodent demyelination models is characterized by myelin swelling. We show, through live imaging, that myelin swelling does not always lead to myelin loss and that swellings can sometimes resolve, allowing sheaths to remodel. Increased neuronal activity during early demyelination exacerbates myelin damage, whereas reducing neuronal activity mitigates myelin swelling in both zebrafish and mice. In human multiple sclerosis tissue, myelin swelling is also dynamic and is prominent around active lesions. Our data indicate that myelin swelling is a conserved feature of demyelination and that damage to myelin sheaths can resolve, opening opportunities for targeting human disease.

ScienceVol. 391(6786)
Mott MacDonald (United Kingdom) (GB), Royal Society of Edinburgh (GB), Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (NL), Oregon Health & Science University (US), Utrecht University (NL), MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine (GB), Amsterdam Neuroscience (NL), Center for Neurosciences (US), UK Dementia Research Institute (GB), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL), University of Edinburgh (GB)
Openalex Percentile: Top 67%
Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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