Primary cultures of rat dorsal root ganglion Schwann cells were used to assay the efficacy of PC12 cells in stimulating Schwann cell proliferation. Co-cultures of PC12 cells and Schwann cells assayed by [3H]thymidine labeling followed by autoradiography showed proliferation of Schwann cells only where contact occurred between PC12 neurites and Schwann cells. Membranes derived from PC12 cells we...

Previously we proposed that Schwann cell development from the neural crest is a two-step process that involves the generation of one main intermediate cell type, the Schwann cell precursor. Until now Schwann cell precursors have only been identified in the rat, and much remains to be learned about these cells and how they generate Schwann cells. Here we identify this cell in the mouse and analy...

Signaling by laminins and axonal neuregulin has been implicated in regulating axon sorting by myelin-forming Schwann cells. However, the signal transduction mechanisms are unknown. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) has been linked to alpha6beta1 integrin and ErbB receptor signaling, and we show that myelination by Schwann cells lacking FAK is severely impaired. Mutant Schwann cells could interdigitat...

We have investigated the potential regulatory role of TGF-beta in the interactions of neurons and Schwann cells using an in vitro myelinating system. Purified populations of neurons and Schwann cells, grown alone or in coculture, secrete readily detectable levels of the three mammalian isoforms of TGF-beta; in each case, virtually all of the TGF-beta activity detected is latent. Expression of T...

Recent findings suggested that inducing neural cell adhesion molecule polysialylation in rodents is a promising strategy for promoting tissue repair in the injured central nervous system. Since autologous grafting of Schwann cells is one potential strategy to promote central nervous system remyelination, it is essential to show that such a strategy can be translated to adult primate Schwann cel...

Exposing rat Schwann cells co-cultured with nerve cells to a reconstituted basement membrane induced the formation of myelin segments by Schwann cells. This occurred in a serum-free culture medium in which, in the absence of this matrix, Schwann cells proliferate but fail to differentiate. This reconstituted basement membrane was prepared from solubilized extracellular matrix proteins synthesiz...

In the vertebrate embryo, Schwann cells lining the peripheral nerves originate from the neural crest (NC), a structure that also gives rise to ganglion satellite cells, most of the neurons of the peripheral nervous system, melanocytes, and part of the cranial mesenchyme. We have studied the emergence of the Schwann cell lineage in vitro in clonal cultures of quail mesencephalic NC cells by usin...

Nerve injury triggers the conversion of myelin and non-myelin (Remak) Schwann cells to a cell phenotype specialized to promote repair. Distal to damage, these repair Schwann cells provide the necessary signals and spatial cues for the survival of injured neurons, axonal regeneration and target reinnervation. The conversion to repair Schwann cells involves de-differentiation together with altern...

SCIP (suppressed cAMP-inducible POU) is a POU domain transcription factor expressed by Schwann cells. Drugs that elevate intracellular cAMP, such as forskolin, increase the expression of SCIP and partially mimic the inductive effects of axons on Schwann cell gene expression. Thus, SCIP may be involved in a differentiation pathway in Schwann cells that is activated by axons. We have examined thi...