Mitsunari Nakajima, Risei Shimizu, Kohei Furuta, Mami Sugino, Takashi Watanabe, Rui Aoki, Satoshi Okuyama and Yoshiko Furukawa
We investigated the effect of nobiletin on the oligodendroglial cell lineage in a cuprizone-induced demyelination animal model. Nobiletin, a polymethoxyflavone, was administered to the model animal for 3 consecutive weeks (50 mg/kg, intraperitoneally, 2 times/week). Immunohistochemical analysis of the corpus callosum and/or Western blotting analysis of brain extracts revealed that cuprizone administration reduced immunoreactivity for myelin-basic protein (MBP), a marker for mature oligodendrocytes, and increased immunoreactivity for platelet derived-growth factor receptor (PDGFR)-α, a marker for oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs). Nobiletin treatment did not affect these changes in the cuprizone-fed mice. Nobiletin treatment, however, increased the immunoreactivity against proteolipid protein (PLP)/DM-20, a marker for mature oligodendrocytes, OPCs, and oligodendrocyte lineage precursor cells, and also augmented immunoreactivity against oligodendrocyte transcription factor 2 (olig2), a marker for OPCs and their precursor cells. These findings suggest that nobiletin promotes the production of oligodendrocyte lineage precursor cells in a demyelination animal model, and that nobiletin treatment might be suitable for individuals with demyelination diseases such as multiple sclerosis.