Insights Into the Role and Potential of Schwann Cells for Peripheral Nerve Repair From Studies of Development and Injury.

ABSTRACT: Peripheral nerve injuries arising from trauma or disease can lead to sensory and motor deficits and neuropathic pain. Despite the purported ability of the peripheral nerve to self-repair, lifelong disability is common. New molecular and cellular insights have begun to reveal why the peripheral nerve has limited repair capacity. The peripheral nerve is primarily comprised of axons and Schwann cells, the supporting glial cells that produce myelin to facilitate the rapid conduction of electrical impulses. Schwann cells are required for successful nerve regeneration; they partially "de-differentiate" in response to injury, re-initiating the expression of developmental genes that support nerve repair. However, Schwann cell dysfunction, which occurs in chronic nerve injury, disease, and aging, l

SUBMITTER: Balakrishnan A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7868393 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature