articleCellAug 1, 2015HYBRID OA

Macrophage-Induced Blood Vessels Guide Schwann Cell-Mediated Regeneration of Peripheral Nerves

MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology · University College London · +2 more institutions

PubMed
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Abstract

The peripheral nervous system has remarkable regenerative capacities in that it can repair a fully cut nerve. This requires Schwann cells to migrate collectively to guide regrowing axons across a 'bridge' of new tissue, which forms to reconnect a severed nerve. Here we show that blood vessels direct the migrating cords of Schwann cells. This multicellular process is initiated by hypoxia, selectively sensed by macrophages within the bridge, which via VEGF-A secretion induce a polarized vasculature that relieves the hypoxia. Schwann cells then use the blood vessels as "tracks" to cross the bridge taking regrowing axons with them. Importantly, disrupting the organization of the newly formed blood vessels in vivo,…

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