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Differentiation of oligodendrocyte progenitors towards myelinating cells is influenced by a plethora of exogenous instructive signals. Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) is one of the major factors regulating cell survival, proliferation, and maturation. Recently, there is an ever growing recognition concerning the role of autocrine/paracrine IGF-1 signaling in brain development and metabolism. Since oligodendrocyte functioning is altered after the neonatal hypoxic-ischemic (HI) insult, a question arises if the injury exerts any influence on the IGF-1 secreted by neural cells and how possibly the change in IGF-1 concentration affects oligodendrocyte growth. To quantify the secretory activity of neonatal glial cells, the step-wise approach by sequentially using the in vivo, ex vivo, and in vitro models of perinatal asphyxia was applied. A comparison of the results of in vivo and ex vivo studies allowed evaluating the role of autocrine/paracrine IGF-1 signaling. Accordingly, astroglia were indicated to be the main local source of IGF-1 in the developing brain, and the factor secretion was shown to be significantly upregulated during the first 24 h after the hypoxic-ischemic insult. And conversely, the IGF-1 amounts released by oligodendrocytes and microglia significantly decreased. A morphometric examination of oligodendrocyte differentiation by means of the Sholl analysis showed that the treatment with low IGF-1 doses markedly improved the branching of oligodendroglial cell processes and, in this way, promoted their differentiation. The changes in the IGF-1 amounts in the nervous tissue after HI might contribute to the resulting white matter disorders, observed in newborn children who experienced perinatal asphyxia. Pharmacological modulation of IGF-1 secretion by neural cells could be reasonable solution in studies aimed at searching for therapies alleviating the consequences of perinatal asphyxia.

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