Tapp1 Inhibits The Difrerentiation Of Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells Via Suppressing The Mek/Erk Pathway

Oligodendrocytes(OLs) are glial cells that form myelin sheaths around axons in the central nervous system(CNS). Loss of myelin sheath can lead to severe impairment of body movement in demyelinating and neurodegenerative diseases. Understanding the extracellular signals and the intracellular factors that regulate OLs differentiation and myelination during development can help develop novel strategies for enhancing myelin repair in neurological disorders. Here, we report that TAPP1 is selectively expressed in differentiating oligodendrocyte precursor cells(OPCs). TAPP1 knockdown promoted oligodendrocyte differentiation and myelin genes expression in culture. Conversely, over-expression of TAPP1 in inmature OPCs suppressed their differentiation. Moremore, TAPP1 inhibition in OPCs altered the expression of Erk1/2 but not AKT. Taken together, our study identified TAPP1 as an important negative regulator of OPCs differentiation through the Mek/Erk signaling pathway.