In this report, we have investigated the signaling pathways that are activated by, and mediate the effects of, the neuregulins and axonal contact in Schwann cells. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) and mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MAPK kinase) are strongly activated in Schwann cells by glial growth factor (GGF), a soluble neuregulin, and by contact with neurite membranes; ...

In the adult peripheral nerve, microvillous processes of myelinating Schwann cells project to the nodes of Ranvier; their composition and physiologic function have not been established. As the ezrin-radixin-moesin (ERM) proteins are expressed in the microvilli of many epithelial cells, we have examined the expression and distribution of these proteins in Schwann cells and neurons in vitro and i...

BACKGROUND Mucosal Schwann-cell hamartoma is a rare mesenchymal polyp that presents in the intestine. Despite lacking ganglion cells, it resembles a gastrointestinal ganglioneuroma. CASE PRESENTATION We report a case of synchronous mucosal Schwann-cell hamartomas in a young male patient, who presented with a single discrete polyp in the mid-rectum and multiple polypoid mucosal lesions in the ...

Most studies of peripheral nerve myelination using culture models are performed with dorsal root ganglion neurons and Schwann cells pre-purified from the rat. The potential of this model is severely compromised by the lack of rat myelin mutants and the published protocols work poorly with mouse cells, for which numerous myelin mutants are available. This is partly due to difficulties in obtaini...

Explants of fetal rat sensory ganglia, cultured under conditions allowing axon and Schwann cell outgrowth in the absence of fibroblasts, occasionally develop nerve fascicles that are partially suspended in culture medium above the collagen substrate. In these suspended regions, fascicles are abnormal in that Schwann cells are decreased in number, are confined to occasional clusters along the fa...

Neuroblastoma (NB), a common pediatric neoplasm, consists of two main cell populations: neuroblastic/ganglionic cells and Schwann cells. NB tumors with abundant Schwannian stroma display a more benign clinical behavior than stroma-poor tumors. Recent studies suggest that Schwann cells influence NB tumor growth via secreted factors that induce differentiation, suppress proliferation, and inhibit...

Methods: MDSCs were isolated from 4–8 weeks old C57BL/6J mice using a previously described pre-plate technique based on the selective adhesion potential of various cell types to type I collagen coated surfaces. Two mesenchymal-stem cell (MSC) neurogenic induction protocols (P1 vs P2) composed of various glial growth factor combinations were used for Schwann cell differentiation of MDSCs. A Schw...

INTRODUCTION The aim of the study was investigating the influence of Schwann cells-alginic acid sodium hydrogel co-transplantation on a rat model of spinal cord injury. MATERIAL AND METHODS Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly assigned to 4 groups: control, injury, injury with Schwann cell transplantation, and injury with Schwann cells-alginic acid sodium hydrogel co-transplantation. Gelati...

Previously, we reported the cloning of alpha4 type V collagen, a novel member of the collagen type V gene family that is expressed by Schwann cells in developing peripheral nerves (Chernousov et al., 2000). The present study was performed to investigate the effects of this collagen on the adhesion and migration of premyelinating Schwann cells and neurite outgrowth from embryonic dorsal root gan...