Using antibodies to direct axon regrowth

Abstract

After a peripheral motor nerve injury, a complex series of events is set in motion. Within a few hours, the proximal side of the lesion closes with a membranous seal, through which axonal branches begin to emerge. The navigation of these branches is thought to be controlled by short-range guidance cues from the distal nerve stump, within which Schwann cells rearrange to support the new outgrowth. However, complete recovery is rare, on account of aberrant re-innervation of motor targets. Malfunctions in axon guidance cause targets to become innervated by ‘foreign’ axons, and supernumerary branching of axons leaving the proximal stump leads to simultaneous projection along several different fascicles. Recent work by Streppel et al. has addressed this problem from the point of view of axonal branching, looking at the extent to which a blockade of the growth factors known to be involved in this process can reduce erroneous re-innervation [1].