Myelination necessitates axons to initiate concentric membrane wrapping by oligodendroglia in the CNS. Here, we describe an in vitro system that models CNS myelination with a minimally permissive environment, termed Binary Indicant for myelination using Micropillar Arrays (BIMA). Engineered with conical micropillar arrays, BIMA allows for rapid translation of oligodendroglial wrapping and differentiation into binary readout under confocal microscopy. Fabricated into 96- or 384-well plates, BIMA serves as a high-throughput screening platform for compounds that may promote oligodendroglial differentiation and myelination. BIMA is also amenable for examining molecular signals and pathways that regulate axon-glia interaction and recognition.
Keywords: Myelin; Myelin basic protein; Oligodendrocyte; Oligodendrocyte precursor cell; Oligodendroglia; Platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha.