During development, neuregulin-1 promotes Schwann cell proliferation and survival; its role in later events of Schwann cell differentiation, including myelination, is poorly understood. Accordingly, we have examined the effects of neuregulin-1 on myelination in neuron-Schwann cell cocultures. Glial growth factor (GGF), a neuregulin-1 isoform, significantly inhibited myelination by preventing ax...

L ike teeth and fence posts, acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) need to be solidly anchored. Schmidt et al. reveal that proteins called neuregulins help ensure that the receptors are securely settled in the postsynaptic membrane of the neuromuscular junction (1). Neuregulins are signaling molecules essential for everything from heart development to nerve cell differentiation. Another of their task...

BACKGROUND Activation of ErbB2/4 receptor tyrosine kinases in cardiomyocytes by neuregulin treatment is associated with improvement in cardiac function, supporting its use in human patients with heart failure despite the lack of a specific mechanism. Neuregulin infusion in rodents increases cardiac myosin light chain kinase (cMLCK) expression and cardiac myosin regulatory light chain (RLC) phos...