Laminins and their receptors in Schwann cells and hereditary neuropathies-CMT4F

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J Peripher Nerv Syst. 2005 Jun;10(2):128-43.

Laminins and their receptors in Schwann cells and hereditary

neuropathies.

Feltri ML, Wrabetz L.

San Raffaele Scientific Institute, DIBIT, Milano, Italy.

This review focuses on the influence of laminins, mediated through

laminin receptors present on Schwann cells, on peripheral nerve

development and pathology. Laminins influence multiple aspects of

cell differentiation and tissue morphogenesis, including cell

survival, proliferation, cytoskeletal rearrangements, and polarity.

Peripheral nerves are no exception, as shown by the discovery that

defective laminin signals contribute to the pathogenesis of diverse

neuropathies such as merosin-deficient congenital muscular dystrophy

and Charcot-Marie-Tooth 4F, neurofibromatosis, and leprosy. In the

last 5 years, advanced molecular and cell biological techniques and

conditional mutagenesis in mice began revealing the role of different

laminins and receptors in developing nerves. In this way, we are

starting to explain morphological and pathological observations

beginning at the start of the last century. Here, we review these

recent advances and show how the roles of laminins and their

receptors are surprisingly varied in both time and place.