PAK2 is necessary for myelination in the peripheral nervous system.

ABSTRACT: Myelination enables electrical impulses to propagate on axons at the highest speed, encoding essential life functions. The Rho family GTPases, RAC1 and CDC42, have been shown to critically regulate Schwann cell myelination. P21-activated kinase 2 (PAK2) is an effector of RAC1/CDC42, but its specific role in myelination remains undetermined. We produced a Schwann cell-specific knockout mouse of Pak2 (scPak2-/-) to evaluate PAK2's role in myelination. Deletion of Pak2, specifically in mouse Schwann cells, resulted in severe hypomyelination, slowed nerve conduction velocity and behaviour dysfunctions in the scPak2-/- peripheral nerve. Many Schwann cells in scPak2-/- sciatic nerves were arrested at the stage of axonal sorting. These abnormalities were rescued by reintroducing Pak2, but not the

SUBMITTER: Hu B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11068108 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature