# Mechanisms of mTOR-mediated myelin sheath growth

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2021 · $32,543

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
In the central nervous system, individual oligodendrocytes produce variable amounts of myelin on different
axons. The underlying mechanisms governing how specific amounts of myelin are made on certain axons
remains a fundamental question in cellular neurobiology. Recent work has provided evidence that neural activity
promotes myelin sheath growth in spinal circuits, yet the signaling mechanisms that function within
oligodendrocytes to transduce activity-evoked signaling from axons into selective myelin membrane growth
remain unknown. The PI3K-Akt-mTOR signaling pathway is a prime candidate to mediate these events, as it
both promotes myelin sheath growth and can be activated in response to neural activity. Using a combination of
genetic manipulations and in vivo live-cell imaging of zebrafish larvae, this project seeks to build on this
knowledge to further elucidate the intracellular signaling events within oligodendrocytes that drive myelin sheath
growth. The proposed work has two parts: Aim 1 will identify a novel regulator of myelin sheath growth and Aims
2 and 3 will test if this mediates mTOR and neural activity-regulated myelin sheath growth. Together, this work
will define a signaling axis within oligodendrocytes that mediates myelin sheath growth in response to neural
activity.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10086001
- **Project number:** 5F31NS115261-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** Karlie N Fedder
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $32,543
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-12-01 → 2021-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10086001

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10086001, Mechanisms of mTOR-mediated myelin sheath growth (5F31NS115261-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10086001. Licensed CC0.

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