Olig1 is downregulated in oligodendrocyte progenitor cell differentiation

Olig1 is a transcription factor that is essential for oligodendrogenesis. It is important to understand the upstream regulation of Olig1 expression because of its critical role in remyelination repair. A mouse oligodendrocyte progenitor cell (OPC) differentiation model was established to explore Olig1 transcriptional activity during OPC differentiation. Using an Olig1 promoter-luciferase reporter plasmid, we found that Olig1 transcription is dramatically decreased during OPC differentiation in response to 0.5% fetal bovine serum. Olig1 protein expression is also remarkably decreased as revealed by immunostaining and western blotting. Thus, Olig1 is downregulated during OPC differentiation, suggesting that Olig1 is not actively required in differentiated oligodendrocytes.