Cell-based screen for agents useful for reducing neuronal demyelination or promoting neuronal remyelination

1. A method of developing a small organic compound that promotes neuronal remyelination, comprising:

(a) contacting said small organic compound with a myelinating cell isolated from peripheral or central nervous system, or from a demyelinating lesion of a subject, and

(b) detecting an altered expression of a gene or gene product correlated with endoplasmic reticulum stress, relative to a control cell from non-demyelinated tissues from peripheral or central nervous system, wherein the gene or gene product mediates its biological effect through the pancreatic endoplasmic reticulum (ER) kinase gene (PERK) pathway, wherein the detecting of step (b) is accomplished by measuring level of eIF-2 alpha phosphorylation of said myelinating cell, wherein an increased level of eIF-2 alpha phosphorylation of said myelinating cell indicates the ability of the compound in promoting neuronal remyelination.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said neuronal remyelination is characterized by a gain of oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said neuronal remyelination is characterized by an increase in myelinated axons in the nervous system.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said neuronal remyelination is characterized by an increase in the level of an oligodendrocyte marker or Schwann cell marker.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein said marker is selected from the group consisting of CC1, myelin basic protein (MBP), ceramide galactosyltransferase (CGT), myelin associated glycoprotein (MAG), myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG), oligodendrocyte-myelin glycoprotein (OMG), cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (CNP), NOGO, myelin protein zero (MPZ), peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22), protein 2 (P2), galactocerebroside (GalC), sulfatide and proteolipid protein (PLP).

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein said myelinating cell is an oligodendrocyte.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein said myelinating cell is a Schwann cell.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein said gene or gene product being correlated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is growth and DNA damage protein 34 (GADD34).

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein said gene or gene product being correlated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is pancreatic endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK), eukaryotic translation initiation factor beta (eIF-2β), inositol requiring 1 (IRE1), activating transcription factor 6 (ARTF6), CAATT enhancer-binding protein homologous (CHOP), binding-immunoglobulin protein (BIP), caspase-12, CreP (a constitutive repressor of eIF2 alpha phosphorylation), or X-box-binding protein-1 (XBP-1).

10. The method of claim 6 , wherein said oligodendrocyte is from a demyelinated lesion in a subject's central nervous system.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein said subject is a transgenic animal.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein said transgenic animal has (a) stably integrated into its genome a transgenic nucleotide sequence encoding interferon-gamma (INF-γ).

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein said transgenic animal further comprises (b) an altered expression of at least one other gene; wherein upon expression of said INF-γ, said animal exhibits a greater degree of demyelination relative to a transgenic animal having a stably integrated transgenic nucleotide sequence encoding interferon-gamma (INF-γ) as in (a), but lacking said altered expression of said at least one other gene.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein said at least one other gene is correlated with endoplasmic reticulum stress.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein said subject comprises a heterozygous knock-out of PERK gene.