Oligodendrocytes are the myelinating cells of the CNS and are highly susceptible to various components of the pathologic cascades that occur in most or all neurological diseases (McTigue and Tripathi, 2008). Oligodendrocytes are vulnerable to inflammatory mediators (e.g. cytokines and chemokines) and because of their high intracellular iron and low levels of antioxidant molecules, they are exquisitely sensitive to oxidative damage from reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (Thorburne and Juurlink, 1996; Juurlink et al., 1998). Loss of myelinating oligodendrocytes exposes axons to the injury milieu, which can lead to axon degeneration and, in some cases, neuronal death.
