Summary
It has recently been suggested that severed axons fail to regenerate in the mammalian central nervous system as a result of an autoimmune reaction to myelin basic protein released into the circulation at the time of injury. Since the autoantigenic components of peripheral myelin are rapidly phagocytosed after axonal transection, it is claimed that a comparable immune response does not occur following injury to peripheral nerves, so the regenerative process is not hindered. If this contention is correct, it should be possible to inhibit the regeneration of peripheral axons by inoculating animals with suitable neuritogenic homogenates of peripheral nervous tissue.
It has been shown that axonal regeneration proceeds at the same rate in rats with experimental allergic neuritis as in healthy controls inoculated only with Freund's adjuvant. It is unlikely, therefore that myelin basic proteins can stimulate the production of antibodies capable of inhibiting regenerative axonal growth.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abramsky, O., Teitelbaum, I., Webb, C., Arnon, R.: Neuritogenic and encephalitogenic properties of the peripheral nerve basic protein J. Neuropath. exp. Neurol.34, 36–45 (1975)
Berry, M., Riches, A. C.: An immunological approach to regeneration in the central nervous system. Brit. Med. Bull.30, 135–140 (1974)
Bowen, F. P.: Immunologic reactions after cortical lesions in rabbits. Arch. Neurol.19, 398–402 (1968)
Cockett, S. A.: Rate of regeneration in peripheral nerves: a method for measuring. Exp. Neurol.37, 635–638 (1972)
Demêmes, D., Fuentes, C., Marty, R.: Cinétique des processus de dégénérescence axonique dans le système nerveux central: Étude expérimentale à court terme dans le corps calleux chez le rat. Acta neuropath. (Berl.)29, 311–323 (1974)
Fuentes, C., Marty, R.: La réaction de Marchi: Aspects ultrastructraux. Acta neuropath. (Berl.)32, 199–207 (1975)
Hogg, R. M., Simpson, R.: An evaluation of solochrome cyanine R.S. as a nuclear stain stimilar to haematoxylin. Med. Lab. Technol.32, 301–306 (1975)
Holmes, W.: Silver staining of nerve axons in paraffin sections. Anat. Rec.86, 157–187 (1943)
Kiernan, J. A., Heinicke, E. A.: Estimation of lengths of regenerated axons in nerves. Exp. Neurol.56, 431–434 (1977)
Mehta, N. G.: Recognition of self and nonself: the crucial roles of phagocytosis and lysosomal destruction of antigen. Medical Hypotheses2, 141–146 (1976)
Page, K. M.: A stain for myelin using solochrome cyanin. J. med. Lab. Technol.22, 224–225 (1965)
Procházka, M., Voltnerová, M., Stefan, J.: Studies of immunologic reactions after brain injury. II. Antibodies against brain tissue lipids after blunt head injury in man. Int. Surgery55, 322–326 (1971)
Stefan, J., Procházka, M., Voltnerová, M.: Studies of immunologic reactions after brain injury. I. Antibodies against brain tissue lipids after experimental injury of the brain in rabbits. Int. Surgery55, 316–321 (1971)
Willenborg, D. O., Staten, E. A., Eidelberg, A.: Studies on cellmediated hypersensitivity to neural antigens after experimental spinal cord injury. Exp. Neurol.54, 383–392 (1977)
Zar, J. J.: Biostatistical Analysis. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Prentice-Hall 1974
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mervart, M., Kiernan, J.A. Axonal regeneration in experimental allergic peripheral neuritis. Acta Neuropathol 41, 197–200 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00690435
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00690435