Using human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived oligodendrocytes to explore cellular phenotypes associated with t(1;11) translocation.

Although the underlying neurobiology of major mental illness (MMI) remains unknown, emerging evidence implicates a role for oligodendrocyte-myelin abnormalities. Here, we took advantage of a large family carrying a balanced t(1;11) translocation, which substantially increases risk of MMI, to undertake both diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and cellular studies to evaluate the consequences of the t(1;11) translocation on white matter structural integrity and oligodendrocyte-myelin biology (this translocation disrupts among others the DISC1 gene which plays a crucial role in brain development). At a cellular level, we observe dysregulation of key pathways controlling oligodendrocyte development and morphogenesis in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) case derived oligodendrocytes.EGA study EGAS00001004595