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First published online March 18, 2009

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Matrilin 2 hits a nerve

Matrilins 1-4 are extracellular-matrix proteins that are involved in the formation of collagen-dependent and collagen-independent filamentous networks, but their specific functions are mostly unknown. In this study, Dieter Riethmacher and colleagues (p. 995) study matrilin-2-deficient mice (which were previously found to have a normal phenotype) to investigate whether matrilin 2 is important in nervous tissue, in which it is reportedly expressed. They show that matrilin 2 is expressed in mouse Schwann cells (SCs) during development and following peripheral-nerve injury in adult mice. Two types of migration assays reveal that matrilin-2-deficient SCs have defective migration and adhesion abilities in vitro. In addition, they report the remarkable finding that matrilin 2 supports axonal growth in vitro as efficiently as laminin, the most potent known enhancer of axonal growth. In vivo experiments show that, although matrilin 2 is expressed at low levels in adult mice, its expression is induced following peripheral-nerve injury. Furthermore, nerve regeneration following injury was slowed in matrilin-2-deficient mice. These findings characterise a novel SC-derived factor that is important for optimal peripheral-nerve regeneration.

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The extracellular-matrix protein matrilin 2 participates in peripheral nerve regeneration

Dmitry Malin, Eva Sonnenberg-Riethmacher, Daria Guseva, Raimund Wagener, Attila Aszódi, Audrey Irintchev, and Dieter Riethmacher
JCS 2009 122: 995-1004. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JCS Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?