Oligomeric amyloid beta prevents myelination in a clusterin-dependent manner

Abstract

White matter loss has been described as a common occurrence in Alzheimers disease (AD) patients for multiple decades. However, it remains unclear why oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) fail to repair myelin deficits in these patients. Here, we show that clusterin, a risk factor for late-onset AD, is produced by OPCs and inhibits their differentiation into oligodendrocytes. Specifically, we demonstrate that a unique subset of OPCs produces clusterin. We show that phagocytosis of debris, including amyloid beta (A{beta}) and myelin, drives the upregulation of clusterin in OPCs. We confirm, in vivo, that A{beta} oligomers drive clusterin upregulation and that OPCs phagocytose A{beta}. Furthermore, we show that clusterin is a potent inhibitor of OPC differentiation and prevents the production of myelin proteins. Finally, we demonstrate that clusterin inhibits OPC differentiation by significantly reducing the production of IL-9 by OPCs. Our data reveals that clusterin may be responsible for the lack of myelin repair observed in AD and is a promising therapeutic target for AD-associated cognitive decline.