nowadays, cell -based and tissue engineered products have opened new horizons in treatment of incurable nervous system disorders. the number of studies on the role of schwann cells (sc) in treating nervous disorders is higher than other cell types. different protocols have been suggested for isolation and expansion of sc which most of them have used multiple growth factors, mitogens and fetal b...

the p75 pan-neurotrophin receptor (p75ntr) plays a pivotal role in linking the immune system with the nervous system. p75ntr is required for the development of several characteristic features of allergic asthma. also p75ntr upregulated by reactive schwann cells after peripheral nerve injury. moreover p75ntr and rhoa play a critical role in the regulation of apoptosis. to determine whether the d...

Peripheral nerve repair can be enhanced by Schwann cell transplantation, but the clinical application of this procedure is limited by donor site morbidity and the inability to quickly generate a sufficient number of cells. Thus, alternative cell systems for the generation of Schwann cells are desired. Schwann-like cell induced from adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) may be one of the ideal alte...

Objective(s) Bone marrow is the traditional source of human multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), but adipose tissue appears to be an alternative and more readily available source. In this study, rat adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) were induced to differentiate into Schwann-like cells and compared with rat bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) for their Schwann-like cells differentiation pote...

Background: The purification of Schwann cells has proven to be a difficult process, with most methods requiring the use of special equipment. However, obtaining a sufficient number and high purity of Schwann cells is an integral aspect in their use for clinical application. Therefore, the aim of this study was to establish a simple and effective protocol for the isolation and purification of Sc...

objective(s) bone marrow is the traditional source of human multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (mscs), but adipose tissue appears to be an alternative and more readily available source. in this study, rat adipose-derived stem cells (adscs) were induced to differentiate into schwann-like cells and compared with rat bone marrow stem cells (bmscs) for their schwann-like cells differentiation poten...

Recent reports on the dystrophic mouse mutant suggest that the prominent extracellular matrix component of peripheral nerve tissues plays an important role in peripheral nerve development. We have examined the disposition of two prominent extracellular matrix components, fibronectin and laminin, both in mature peripheral nerve in vivo and in an in vitro system that allows study of Schwann cells...

Multipotent somatic stem cells have been identified in various adult tissues. However, the stem/progenitor cells of the peripheral nerves have been isolated only from fetal tissues. Here, we isolated Schwann-cell precursors/immature Schwann cells from the injured peripheral nerves of adult mice using a floating culture technique that we call "Schwann-spheres." The Schwann-spheres were derived f...

During embryonic development, neural crest cells differentiate into a wide variety of cell types including Schwann cells of the peripheral nervous system. In order to establish when neural crest cells first start to express a Schwann cell phenotype immunocytochemical techniques were used to examine rat premigratory neural crest cell cultures for the presence of Schwann cell markers. Cultures we...

We devised a simple method to isolate mitotically active human Schwann cells from sural nerve biopsy specimens and expand the population in culture. Nerve fascicles were treated with cholera toxin for 7 days in culture before dissociation, which increased the cell yield at least twenty-five-fold over immediated tissue dissociation. Digesting the tissue completely with enzymes in serum-containin...