Abstract
Glial cells are the most abundant cells in both the peripheral and central nervous systems. During the past decade, a subpopulation of immature peripheral glial cells, namely, embryonic Schwann cell-precursors, have been found to perform important functions related to development. These cells have properties resembling those of the neural crest and, depending on their location in the body, can transform into several different cell types in peripheral tissues, including autonomic neurons. This review describes the multipotent properties of Schwann cell-precursors and their importance, together with innervation, during early development. The heterogeneity of Schwann cells, as revealed using single-cell transcriptomics, raises a question on whether some glial cells in the adult peripheral nervous system retain their stem cell-like properties. We also discuss how a deeper insight into the biology of both embryonic and adult Schwann cells might lead to an effective treatment of the damage of both neural and non-neural tissues, including the damage caused by neurodegenerative diseases. Furthermore, understanding the potential involvement of Schwann cells in the regulation of tumor development may reveal novel targets for cancer treatment.
Highlights
Peripheral glial cells encompass a wide variety of cell types, including myelinating Schwann cells, non-myelinating Schwann (Remak) cells (Jessen and Mirsky, 2010), glia of the enteric nervous system (Ochoa-Cortes et al, 2016), satellite glial cells of peripheral ganglia, and perisynaptic Schwann cells (PSCs) located in neuromuscular junctions (Alvarez-Suarez et al, 2020)
Terminally differentiated peripheral glial cells cells (SCs) have been thought to derive directly from multipotent neural crest cells (NCCs), which appear for only a short time during early mammalian development, and give rise to a variety of other cell types (Le Douarin and Kalcheim, 1999)
After injury of the ends of fingers or toes, the transcription factor SOX2 is upregulated in the SCs associated with the damaged nerves
Summary
Peripheral glial cells encompass a wide variety of cell types, including myelinating Schwann cells, non-myelinating Schwann (Remak) cells (Jessen and Mirsky, 2010), glia of the enteric nervous system (Ochoa-Cortes et al, 2016), satellite glial cells of peripheral ganglia, and perisynaptic Schwann cells (PSCs) located in neuromuscular junctions (Alvarez-Suarez et al, 2020). Boundary cap cells give rise to terminal glia associated with dermal nerve endings (Zujovic et al, 2011; Gresset et al, 2015). Researchers have described other small subpopulations of glial cells, such as olfactory ensheathing cells that envelop bundles of axons in the olfactory bulb (Su and He, 2010) and specialized subtypes of glial cells in sensory organs (Ruffini endings, Krause end bulbs, and Meissner’s and Pacinian corpuscles) (Byers, 1985; Maeda et al, 1999; Kastriti and Adameyko, 2017)
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