Myelination of axons in the nervous system of vertebrates enables fast, saltatory impulse
propagation, one of the best-understood concepts in neurophysiology. However, it took a …

Basement membranes are widely distributed extracellular matrices that coat the basal
aspect of epithelial and endothelial cells and surround muscle, fat, and Schwann cells …

Although Schwann cell myelin breakdown is the universal outcome of a remarkably wide
range of conditions that cause disease or injury to peripheral nerves, the cellular and …

During the development of peripheral nerves, neural crest cells generate myelinating and
non-myelinating glial cells in a process that parallels gliogenesis from the germinal layers of …

The peripheral nervous system harbors a remarkable potential to regenerate after acute
nerve trauma. Full functional recovery, however, is rare and critically depends on peripheral …

Whereas the central nervous system (CNS) usually cannot regenerate, peripheral nerves
regenerate spontaneously after injury because of a permissive environment and activation …

An astonishing number of extracellular matrix glycoproteins are expressed in dynamic
patterns in the developing and adult nervous system. Neural stem cells, neurons, and glia …

In the peripheral nervous system, Schwann cells are glial cells that are in intimate contact
with axons throughout development. Schwann cells generate the insulating myelin sheath …

Widespread demyelination and axonal loss are the pathological hallmarks of multiple
sclerosis. The multifocal nature of this chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous …

Integrins are adhesion receptors that allow cells to sense and respond to
microenvironmental signals encoded by the extracellular matrix. They are crucial for the …