Neonatal rat Schwann cells were grown in tissue culture and assayed for NGF receptors with time in culture. NGF receptor levels on freshly prepared Schwann cells (day 0) were low but increased dramatically during the first week in culture. Characterization of 125I-NGF binding to resuspended cells grown for 4 d in culture revealed that binding was not saturable at high ligand concentrations (50-...

Background: Spinal cord has a limited capacity to repair therefore, medical interventions are necessary for treatment of injuries. Transplantation of Schwann cells has shown a great promising result for spinal cord injury (SCI). However, harvesting Schwann cell has been limited due to donor morbidity and limited expansion capacity. Furthermore, accessible sources such as bone marrow stem cells ...

Myelination of Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system is an intricate process involving myelin protein trafficking. Recently, the role and mechanism of the endosomal/lysosomal system in myelin formation were emphasized. Our previous results demonstrated that a small GTPase Rab27a regulates lysosomal exocytosis and myelin protein trafficking in Schwann cells. In this present study, we es...

In the developing peripheral nerve, Schwann cells proliferate rapidly and then become quiescent, an essential step in control of Schwann cell differentiation. Cell proliferation is controlled by growth factors that can exert positive or inhibitory influences on DNA synthesis. It has been well established that neonatal Schwann cells divide very slowly in culture when separated from neurons but h...

Steroids promote the myelination and regeneration in the peripheral nervous system. Whereas, little is known about the inducing effects by which the hormones exert their effects on Schwann cells differentiation. This could be revealed by the expression of Schwann cell markers in adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs). The purpose of this study was to present the effects of progesterone and 17 β-est...

Glia maturation factor-beta (GMF-beta) is a 17 kDa protein purified and sequenced from bovine brains. Using the monoclonal antibody G2-09 directed against GMF-beta, we previously demonstrated endogenous GMF-beta in astroblasts, Schwann cells, and their tumors in culture. In the present study, we have used indirect immunofluorescence microscopy with G2-09 to examine the effects of transection, c...

Schwann cells are the glial cells of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) which both myelinate and provide trophic support for their associated axons. Their functions are critical for proper development, homeostasis, and regeneration of the PNS. Schwann cells can be isolated and expanded in culture. Such a culture can be used as a source of myelinating glia in culture or as a source of Schwann c...

In peripheral nerves, Schwann cell development is regulated by a variety of signals. Some of the aspects of Schwann cell differentiation can be reproduced in vitro in response to forskolin, an adenylyl cyclase activator elevating intracellular cAMP levels. Herein, the effect of forskolin treatment was investigated by a comprehensive genome-wide expression study on primary mouse Schwann cell cul...

Despite evidence that glial cell surfaces and components of the extracellular matrix (ECM) support neurite outgrowth in many culture systems, the relative contributions of these factors have rarely been compared directly. Specifically, it remains to be determined which components of peripheral nerve support growth of central nerve fibers. We have directly compared neurite outgrowth from embryon...

Introduction: Recent reports showed allogenic neurotrophic Schwann-cell factors could induce neural differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells, so we want to investigate whether heterogeneic neurotrophic Schwann-cell factors could induce neural differentiation of periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs). Material and methods: We isolated and multiplied PDLSCs from periodontal ligament of 8 month...