Astrocytes traditionally were thought to have merely a support function, but are now understood to be important regulators of neural development and function. The immature and mature astrocytes have stage-specific roles in neuronal development. However, it is largely unclear whether human astrocytes also serve stage-specific roles in oligodendroglial development. Owing to the broad and diverse roles of astroglia in the central nervous system, transplantation of astroglia also could be of therapeutic value in promoting regeneration after CNS injury or disease. Our recent study (Jiang et al., 2016) explores the developmental interactions between astroglia and oligodendroglia, using a human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) model. By generating immature and mature human astrocytes from hiPSCs, we reveal previously unrecognized effects of immature human astrocytes on oligodendrocyte development. Notably, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) is differentially expressed in the immature and mature human astrocytes, and mediates at least in part the effects of immature human astrocytes on oligodendroglial differentiation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that hiPSC-derived astroglial transplants promote cerebral white matter regeneration and behavioral recovery in a neonatal mouse model of hypoxic-ischemic injury. Our study provides novel insights into the astro-oligodendroglial cell interaction and has important implications for possible therapeutic interventions for human white matter diseases. Astrocytes are critical players in organizing and maintaining brain structure and function.1 Recent studies discover that astrocytes served stage-specific roles in assisting neuronal development, such as synapse stabilization and elimination. 2,3 In our recent studies, we asked whether astrocytes, at specific immature and mature stages, differently regulate the development of oligodendrocytes, myelin-producing cells in the central nervous system (CNS), and whether astrocytes can be harnessed for regenerative medicine to promote myelination. 4 Our study 5 describes a novel method of differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) to astroglia for promoting oligodendrocyte regeneration and remyelination therapy. We first demonstrate that the hiPSC-derived immature, rather than mature, human astroglia promote cell lineage progression of the oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) cultured from mouse brain tissue via increased secretion of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) and further develop astroglia therapies to promote myelin regeneration from endogenous resident OPCs in the brain. We find that immature human astrocytes have greater capacity in promoting OPC proliferation than mature human astrocytes. Furthermore, immature human astrocytes, but not mature human astrocytes, robustly boost OPC differentiation to oligodendrocytes (Fig. 1). In addition, we provide both in vitro and in vivo evidence that TIMP-1 partially, but critically, mediates the effects of immature astrocytes o...