SCHWANN CELL-AXON INTERACTION IN NERVE REGENERATION, ROLE OF ADHESION AND CYTOSKELETON

Axonal neuropathy is the most common cause of disability in the peripheral nervous system. It is the result of several hereditary disorders, although the causes remain mostly unknown. Efficiency of nerve regeneration determines the fate and severity of the disease. In fact, recovery is due both to the regenerative capacity of the neurons to grow new axons, and to the ability of the nerve to support the axonal growth. When neurons are spared, Schwann cells play a key role in efficient axonal regeneration. The axonal cut or crush of the rodent nerve represents a model to study in a synchronous way the events involved in axonal regeneration. After lesion, Schwann cells constitute a permissive environment for axonal growth. The Schwann cell response is mostly influenced by laminin and the molecular pathway that is generated in Schwann cells. We propose to study the effect of inactivation of the molecules that lay on the laminin pathway on Schwann cell function and axonal regeneration. The aim is to identify new molecules that may improve o worse nerve regeneration in order to characterize new therapeutic tools to promote nerve regeneration and to improve the diagnosis.