Glucose Signals Turn On the Brain’s Myelin Growth Timeline

Scientists mapped glucose in the developing brain and found that high local glucose drives oligodendrocyte progenitor cell (OPC) proliferation via nuclear acetyl-CoA produced by the enzyme ACLY, while lower glucose cues these cells to mature into myelin-forming oligodendrocytes. In ACLY-deficient mice, ketogenic diets can partially rescue myelin deficits by providing an alternative fuel source. This reveals a metabolic switch that times and regionalizes myelin formation during a critical late-gestation window (roughly 32–40 weeks in humans), with implications for premature white-matter injury and potential myelin-repair strategies in diseases like multiple sclerosis.