RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 FGF-2 and Anosmin-1 Are Selectively Expressed in Different Types of Multiple Sclerosis Lesions JF The Journal of Neuroscience JO J. Neurosci. FD Society for Neuroscience SP 14899 OP 14909 DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1158-11.2011 VO 31 IS 42 A1 Diego Clemente A1 María Cristina Ortega A1 Francisco Javier Arenzana A1 Fernando de Castro YR 2011 UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/31/42/14899.abstract AB Multiple sclerosis is a demyelinating disease that affects ∼2,000,000 people worldwide. In the advanced stages of the disease, endogenous oligodendrocyte precursors cannot colonize the lesions or differentiate into myelinating oligodendrocytes. During development, both FGF-2 and Anosmin-1 participate in oligodendrocyte precursor cell migration, acting via the FGF receptor 1 (FGFR1). Hence, we performed a histopathological and molecular analysis of these developmental modulators in postmortem tissue blocks from multiple sclerosis patients. Accordingly, we demonstrate that the distribution of FGF-2 and Anosmin-1 varies between the different types of multiple sclerosis lesions: FGF-2 is expressed only within active lesions and in the periplaque of chronic lesions, whereas Anosmin-1 is upregulated within chronic lesions and is totally absent in active lesions. We show that the endogenous oligodendrocyte precursor cells recruited toward chronic-active lesions express FGFR1, possibly in response to the FGF-2 produced by microglial cells in the periplaque. Also in human tissue, FGF-2 is upregulated in perivascular astrocytes in regions of the normal-appearing gray matter, where the integrity of the blood–brain barrier is compromised. In culture, FGF-2 and Anosmin-1 influence adult mouse oligodendrocyte precursor cell migration in the same manner as at embryonic stages, providing an explanation for the histopathological observations: FGF-2 attracts/enhances its migration, which is hindered by Anosmin-1. We propose that FGF-2 and Anosmin-1 are markers for the histopathological type and the level of inflammation of multiple sclerosis lesions, and that they may serve as novel pharmacogenetic targets to design future therapies that favor effective remyelination and protect the blood–brain barrier.