In the CNS, the primary signal initiating myelination and its cellular origin remain unclear. Goebbels et al. find that deleting PTEN from cerebellar granule cells drives radial axon growth, oligodendrocyte progenitor cell (OPC) proliferation, oligodendrocyte differentiation and de novo myelination of parallel fibers. This suggests that myelination is downstream of a neuronal PI(3,4,5)P3-dependent signal.
- Sandra Goebbels
- Georg L Wieser
- Klaus-Armin Nave