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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2005 Sep 13.
Published in final edited form as: Neuron. 2002 Dec 5;36(5):855–868. doi: 10.1016/s0896-6273(02)01067-x

Figure 10. Adenosine Promotes OPC Differentiation into Myelinating Oligodendrocytes.

Figure 10

OPCs primed for 48 hr with adenosine (100 μM) or PDGF alone (control) were replated without axons and immunostained for myelin basic protein (MBP) 1 and 2 days later. After 1 day, adenosine-primed OPCs were morphologically distinct from controls ([A] versus [B]). Adenosine-primed OPCs expressed a significantly higher proportion of MBP+ OPCs/field compared with controls (15.2% versus 5.3%; adenosine versus PDGF; n = 4, p < 0.002). After 2 days, the majority of MBP+ oligodendrocytes in adenosine-treated cultures expressed lower levels of MBP in the soma (open arrows, [A] versus [C]) but enhanced expression in large rafts of membrane (white arrows) along their processes as compared to PDGF-primed controls ([C] versus [D]) (11.5% versus 1.15%; adenosine versus PDGF; n = 6, p < 0.003).