Schwann Cell Proliferation (schwann + cell_proliferation)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Schwann cells express erythropoietin receptor and represent a major target for Epo in peripheral nerve injury

GLIA, Issue 4 2005
Xiaoqing Li
Abstract Erythropoietin (Epo) expresses potent neuroprotective activity in the peripheral nervous system; however, the underlying mechanism remains incompletely understood. In this study, we demonstrate that Epo is upregulated in sciatic nerve after chronic constriction injury (CCI) and crush injury in rats, largely due to local Schwann cell production. In uninjured and injured nerves, Schwann cells also express Epo receptor (EpoR), and its expression is increased during Wallerian degeneration. CCI increased the number of Schwann cells at the injury site and the number was further increased by exogenously administered recombinant human Epo (rhEpo). To explore the activity of Epo in Schwann cells, primary cultures were established. These cells expressed cell-surface Epo receptors, with masses of 71 and 62 kDa, as determined by surface protein biotinylation and affinity precipitation. The 71-kDa species was rapidly but transiently tyrosine-phosphorylated in response to rhEpo. ERK/MAP kinase was also activated in rhEpo-treated Schwann cells; this response was blocked by pharmacologic antagonism of JAK-2. RhEpo promoted Schwann cell proliferation, as determined by BrdU incorporation. Cell proliferation was ERK/MAP kinase-dependent. These results support a model in which Schwann cells are a major target for Epo in injured peripheral nerves, perhaps within the context of an autocrine signaling pathway. EpoR-induced cell signaling and Schwann cell proliferation may protect injured peripheral nerves and promote regeneration. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibits Schwann cell proliferation by up-regulating Src-suppressed protein kinase C substrate expression

JOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY, Issue 3 2009
Tao Tao
Abstract Src-suppressed protein kinase C substrate (SSeCKS) is a protein kinase C substrate protein, which plays an important role in mitogenic regulatory activity. In the early stage of nerve injury, expression of SSeCKS in the PNS increases, mainly in Schwann cells (SCs). However, the exact function of SSeCKS in the regulation of SC proliferation remains unclear. In this study, we found that tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-,) induced both SSeCKS , isoform expression and SC growth arrest in a dose-dependent manner. By knocking down SSeCKS , isoform expression, TNF-,-induced growth arrest in SCs was partially rescued. Concurrently, the expression of cyclin D1 was reduced and the activity of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 was decreased. A luciferase activity assay showed that cyclin D1 expression was regulated by SSeCKS at the transcription level. In addition, the cell fragments assay and immunofluorescence revealed that TNF-, prevented the translocation of cyclin D1 into the nucleus, while knocking down SSeCKS , isoform expression prompted cyclin D1 redistribution to the nucleus. In summary, our data indicate that SSeCKS may play a critical role in TNF-,-induced SC growth arrest through inhibition of cyclin D1 expression thus preventing its nuclear translocation. [source]


Reduction of Dicer impairs Schwann cell differentiation and myelination

JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, Issue 12 2010
Jonathan D. Verrier
Abstract The process of Schwann cell myelination requires precisely coordinated gene expression. At the onset of myelination, there is an increase in the expression of differentiation-promoting transcription factors that regulate key Schwann cell genes. Further control of myelin gene expression occurs at the posttranscriptional level and, in part, is mediated by RNA binding proteins and micro-RNAs (miRNAs). miRNAs are small, endogenously derived RNA molecules that repress gene expression by specifically binding to their mRNA targets. In the experiments described here, we tested whether miRNAs were essential in controlling myelination by reducing the levels of Dicer, an essential endoribonuclease in miRNA biogenesis. We decreased the expression of Dicer by about 60% within Schwann cells using a lentiviral vector expressing an shRNA against Dicer. The reduced levels of Dicer led to a decrease in the steady-state expression of selected miRNAs and of the transcription factors Oct6 and Egr2/Krox20, both of which are critical for Schwann cells differentiation and myelination. In contrast, the levels of c-jun and Sox2 were up-regulated by the reduction in Dicer and were associated with an increase in Schwann cell proliferation. In dorsal root ganglion cocultures, Schwann cells transduced with Dicer shRNA synthesized less myelin, which was accompanied by significant reductions in the levels of myelin basic protein and protein zero. These findings support a critical role for Dicer and miRNAs in Schwann cell differentiation and myelination. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Schwann cells express IP prostanoid receptors coupled to an elevation in intracellular cyclic AMP,

JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, Issue 6 2007
Naser Muja
Abstract We have shown previously that prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and prostaglandin I2 (PGI2) are each produced in an explant model of peripheral nerve injury. We report that IP prostanoid receptor mRNA and protein are present in primary rat Schwann cells. IP prostanoid receptor stimulation using prostacyclin produced an elevation in intracellular cyclic AMP concentration ([cAMP]i) in primary Schwann cells. Peak [cAMP]i was observed between 5,15 min of stimulation followed by a gradual recovery toward basal level. Phosphorylation of cyclic AMP-response element binding protein (CREB) on Ser133 was also detected after IP prostanoid receptor stimulation and CREB phosphorylation was inhibited completely by the protein kinase A inhibitor, H-89. Intracellular calcium levels were not affected by IP prostanoid receptor stimulation. Unlike forskolin, IP prostanoid receptor stimulation did not significantly augment Schwann cell proliferation in response to growth factor treatment. However, IP prostanoid receptor stimulation increased the number of Schwann cells that were able to generate a calcium transient in response to P2 purinergic receptor activation. These findings suggest that signaling via the IP prostanoid receptor may by relevant to Schwann cell biology in vivo. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Molecular alterations resulting from frameshift mutations in peripheral myelin protein 22: Implications for neuropathy severity

JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, Issue 6 2005
J.S. Johnson
Abstract Alterations in peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22) expression are associated with a heterogeneous group of hereditary demyelinating peripheral neuropathies. Two mutations at glycine 94, a single guanine insertion or deletion in PMP22, result in different reading frameshifts and, consequently, an extended G94fsX222 or a truncated G94fsX110 protein, respectively. Both of these autosomal dominant mutations alter the second half of PMP22 and yet are linked to clinical phenotypes with distinct severities. The G94fsX222 is associated with hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies, whereas G94fsX110 causes severe neuropathy diagnosed as Dejerine-Sottas disease or Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type IA. To investigate the subcellular changes associated with the G94 frameshift mutations, we expressed epitope-tagged forms in primary rat Schwann cells. Biochemical and immunolabeling studies indicate that, unlike the wild-type protein, which is targeted for the plasma membrane, frameshift PMP22s are retained in the cell, prior to reaching the medial Golgi compartment. Similar to Wt-PMP22, both frameshift mutants are targeted for proteasomal degradation and accumulate in detergent-insoluble, ubiquitin-containing aggregates upon inhibition of this pathway. The extended frameshift PMP22 shows the ability to form spontaneous aggregates in the absence of proteasome inhibition. On the other hand, Schwann cells expressing the truncated protein proliferate at a significantly higher rate than Schwann cells expressing the wild-type or the extended PMP22. In summary, these results suggest that a greater potential for PMP22 aggregation is associated with a less severe phenotype, whereas dysregulation of Schwann cell proliferation is linked to severe neuropathy. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Neurofibromatosis 2 with peripheral neuropathies: Electrophysiological, pathological and genetic studies of a Taiwanese family

NEUROPATHOLOGY, Issue 5 2010
Hung-Chou Kuo
The objective of this study was to assess peripheral nerve involvement and DNA mutation of the neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) gene (NF2) in a Taiwanese family with classic NF2. Eleven members (six symptomatic and five asymptomatic) of a family carrying NF2 underwent clinical examination, neuroimaging, and electrophysiological analysis. Mutation and linkage analyses were conducted on DNA samples prepared from peripheral blood (all individuals), a sural nerve biopsy specimen (one symptomatic member), and a tumor specimen (another symptomatic member). Six of the 11 members were diagnosed with classic NF2. DNA sequencing of the tumor specimen demonstrated a frameshift mutation with 756delC on exon 8 of NF2. Three affected subjects showed clinical variability of the neuropathic disorders. Electrophysiological studies demonstrated variation in the disease pattern and severity of peripheral nerve involvement in five affected subjects. The morphometric assessment of the sural nerve biopsy specimen showed a marked reduction in both large myelinated and unmyelinated fibre density and increased density of non-myelinating Schwann cell nuclei. Apart from numerous pathological nuclei of isolated Schwann cells, multiple profiles of non-myelinating Schwann cell subunits were apparent in the endoneurium. Schwann cell proliferation in association with first-hit mutation of the merlin gene might be responsible for the NF2-associated neuropathy. Sural nerve biopsy showed a progressive neuropathy in the disease. Further, we suggest nonmyelinating Schwann cells are involved in NF2 neuropathy. [source]


Intracerebral schwannoma in a child with infiltration along perivascular spaces resembling meningioangiomatosis

PATHOLOGY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 8 2009
Misa Ishihara
Schwannoma arising within brain parenchyma is a rare lesion, usually found in children. Reported herein is a case of intracerebral schwannoma in a 5-year-old boy, with a review of the English-language literature on the subject, in which 47 cases were found. Few detailed histological reviews of intracerebral schwannoma exist. The tumor had a distinctive plexiform growth pattern, and small aggregates of Schwann cells spread extensively into the surrounding brain tissue along perivascular spaces adjacent to the tumor nodule. Histological differential diagnoses included perivascular schwannosis and meningioangiomatosis. A few intratumoral axons, seen on immunostaining for neurofilament protein, were trapped at the periphery of the main lesion, but there was no evidence of intralesional axons in the multiple nodules of Schwann cell proliferations that extended into the perivascular spaces, suggesting that the lesions are neoplastic. Because Schwann cells are not a natural component of the central nervous system, the origin of intracerebral schwannomas remains unknown. The histology suggests that Schwann cells of the perivascular nerve plexus are a likely site of origin. [source]