White matter and neurological disorders
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Online ISSN 1976-3786 Print ISSN 0253-6269
REVIEW
White matter and neurological disorders Han‑Gyu Bae1,2,3 · Tai Kyoung Kim4 · Ho Young Suk3 · Sangyoung Jung2,5 · Dong‑Gyu Jo1
Received: 17 August 2020 / Accepted: 22 September 2020 / Published online: 25 September 2020 © The Pharmaceutical Society of Korea 2020
Abstract The central nervous system is simply divided into two distinct anatomical regions based on the color of tissues, i.e. the gray and white matter. The gray matter is composed of neuronal cell bodies, glial cells, dendrites, immune cells, and the vascular system, while the white matter is composed of concentrated myelinated axonal fibers extending from neuronal soma and glial cells, such as oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, and microglia. As neuronal cell bodies are located in the gray matter, great attention has been focused mainly on the gray matter regarding the understanding of the functions of the brain throughout the neurophysiological areas, leading to a scenario in which the function of the white matter is relatively underestimated or has not received much attention. However, increasing evidence shows that the white matter plays highly significant and pivotal functions in the brain based on the fact that its abnormalities are associated with numerous neurological diseases. In this review, we will broadly discuss the pathways and functions of myelination, which is one of the main processes that modulate the * Sangyoung Jung [email protected]‑star.edu.sg * Dong‑Gyu Jo [email protected] 1
School of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, 16419 Suwon, Korea
2
Singapore Bioimaging Consortium, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, 138667 Singapore, Singapore
3
Yeungnam University, 38541 Gyeungsan, Korea
4
Divison of Polar Life Science, Korea Polar Research Institute, 21990 Incheon, Korea
5
Department of Physiology, National University of Singapore, 117597 Singapore, Singapore
13
Vol:.(1234567890)
functions of the white matter, as well as the manner in which its abnormalities are related to neurological disorders. Keywords White matter · Myelination · Neurological disorders · Alzheimer’s disease · Huntington’s disease · Multiple sclerosis
Introduction The central nervous system (CNS) consists of multiple types of cells, such as neurons, vascular cells, and glial cells. In particular, glial cells, which are also known as supporting cells, are mainly divided into astrocytes, microglia, and oligodendrocytes based on their functions. Astrocytes play pivotal functions in the brain by aiding the blood–brain barrier (BBB) ( Michinaga and Koyama 2019), supplying nutrients to neurons (Tang et al. 2014), regulating ion concentrations in the extracellular space (Walz 2000), filling up the space to form a glial scar (Yang et al. 2020), serving as intermediaries in the myelinating activity of oligodendrocytes (Kıray et al. 2016), and fulfilling synaptic functions (Santello et al. 2019). Microglia are known as neuronal macrophages and fulfill a variety of t
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