Conclusion
Our findings highlight a crucial role for macrophages and microglia in enabling ABA to enhance the remyelination process. Furthermore, ABA's ability to improve remyelination together with its ability to reduce microglial activation, make ABA a promising candidate for modulating macrophage phenotype and reducing neuroinflammation in MS.
Methods
In this study, we investigated whether ABA supplementation enhances remyelination in both ex vivo and in vivo mouse models.
Results
Our results indicated that ABA enhanced remyelination and that this enhanced remyelination is associated with increased lipid droplet load, reduced levels of degraded myelin, and a higher abundance of F4/80+ cells in the demyelinated brain of mice treated with ABA. In in vitro models, we further demonstrated that ABA treatment elevates lipid droplet formation by enhancing the phagocytic capacity of macrophages. Additionally, in a mouse model of microglial activation, we showed that ABA-treated mice maintain a less inflammatory microglial phenotype.