Schwann cells enhance axonal regeneration following nerve injury in vivo and provide a favorable substrate for neurite outgrowth in vitro. However, much remains unknown about the nature of interactions that occur between Schwann cells and growing neurites. In this paper, we describe direct evidence of the ability of Schwann cell alignment alone to direct neurite outgrowth. Previously, we reported that laminin micropatterns can be used to align Schwann cells and thus create oriented Schwann cell monolayers. In the current study, dissociated rat spinal neurons were seeded onto oriented Schwann cell monolayers, whose alignment provided the only directional cue for growing neurites, and neurite alignment with the underlying Schwann cells was analyzed. The orientation of neurite outgrowth mimicked that of the Schwann cells. Associations observed between neurites and Schwann cells suggest that Schwann cells may guide neurite outgrowth through both topographical and molecular mechanisms. This work demonstrates that Schwann cell alignment can direct neurite outgrowth in the absence of other directional cues, and provides a new method for examining neuronal–Schwann cell interactions in vitro.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Abraham, V. C., V. Krishnamurthi, D. L. Taylor, and F. Lanni. The actin-based nanomachine at the leading edge of migrating cells. Biophys. J. 77:1721–1732, 1999.
Ahmed, Z., and R. A. Brown. Adhesion, alignment, and migration of cultured Schwann cells on ultrathin fibronectin fibres. Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton 42:331–343, 1999.
Ard, M. D., R. P. Bunge, and M. B. Bunge. Comparison of the Schwann cell surface and Schwann cell extracellular matrix as promoters of neurite growth. J. Neurocytol. 16:539–555, 1987.
Biran, R., M. D. Noble, and P. A. Tresco. Directed nerve outgrowth is enhanced by engineered glial substrates. Exp. Neurol. 184:141–152, 2003.
Brook, G. A., J. M. Lawrence, B. Shah, and G. Raisman. Extrusion transplantation of Schwann cells into the adult rat thalamus induces directional host axon growth. Exp. Neurol. 126:31–43, 1994.
Brook, G. A., D. Plate, R. Franzen, D. Martin, G. Moonen, J. Schoenen, A. B. Schmitt, J. Noth, and W. Nacimiento. Spontaneous longitudinally orientated axonal regeneration is associated with the Schwann cell framework within the lesion site following spinal cord compression injury of the rat. J. Neurosci. Res. 53:51–65, 1998.
Bunge, R. P. Tissue culture observations relevant to the study of axon–Schwann cell interactions during peripheral nerve development and repair. J. Exp. Biol. 132:21–34, 1987.
Bunge, R. P. The role of the Schwann cell in trophic support and regeneration. J. Neurol. 242:S19–S21, 1994.
Bunge, M. B., and D. D. Pearse. Transplantation strategies to promote repair of the injured spinal cord. J. Rehabil. Res. Dev. 40(4, Suppl. 1):55–62, 2003.
Carey, D. J., R. C. Stahl, V. K. Asundi, and B. Tucker. Processing and subcellular distribution of the Schwann cell lipid-anchored heparan sulfate proteoglycan and identification as glypican. Exp. Cell Res. 208:10–18, 1993.
Ceballos, D., X. Navarro, N. Dubey, G. Wendelschafer-Crabb, W. R. Kennedy, and R. T. Tranquillo. Magnetically aligned collagen gel filling a collagen nerve guide improves peripheral nerve regeneration. Exp. Neurol. 158:290–300, 1999.
Clark, P., S. Britland, and P. Connolly. Growth cone guidance and neuron morphology on micropatterned laminin surfaces. J. Cell Sci. 105(Pt 1):203–212, 1993.
Clark, P., P. Connolly, A. S. Curtis, J. A. Dow, and C. D. Wilkinson. Cell guidance by ultrafine topography in vitro. J. Cell Sci. 99(Pt 1):73–77, 1991.
Cornbrooks, C. J., D. J. Carey, J. A. McDonald, R. Timpl, and R. P. Bunge. In vivo and in vitro observations on laminin production by Schwann cells. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 80:3850–3854, 1983.
Dertinger, S. K., X. Jiang, Z. Li, V. N. Murthy, and G. M. Whitesides. Gradients of substrate-bound laminin orient axonal specification of neurons. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 99:12542–12547, 2002.
Dowell-Mesfin, N. M., M.-A. Abdul-Karim, A. M. P. Turner, S. S, C. H. G, R. B, T. J. N, and S. W. Topographically modified surfaces affect oreintation and growth of hippocampal neurons. J. Neural Eng. 1:78–90, 2004.
Dubey, N., P. C. Letourneau, and R. T. Tranquillo. Guided neurite elongation and schwann cell invasion into magnetically aligned collagen in simulated peripheral nerve regeneration. Exp. Neurol. 158:338–350, 1999.
Dunn, G. A., and T. Ebendal. Contact guidance on oriented collagen gels. Exp. Cell Res. 111:475–479, 1978.
Fawcett, J. W., and R. J. Keynes. Peripheral nerve regeneration. Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 13:43–60, 1990.
Guenard, V., N. Kleitman, T. K. Morrissey, R. P. Bunge, and P. Aebischer. Syngeneic Schwann cells derived from adult nerves seeded in semipermeable guidance channels enhance peripheral nerve regeneration. J. Neurosci. 12:3310–3320, 1992.
Gundersen, R. W. Guidance of Sensory neurites and growth cones to patterned substrata of laminin and fibronectin in vitro. Dev. Biol. 121:423–431, 1987.
Hammmerback, J. A., J. B. McCarthy, S. L. Palm, L. T. Furcht, and P. C. Letourneau. Growth cone guidance by substrate bound pathways is correlated with neuron-to-pathway adhesivity. Dev. Biol. 126:29–39, 1988.
Letourneau, P. C. Cell-to-substratum adhesion and guidance of axonal elongation. Dev. Biol. 44:92–101, 1975.
Martini, R., Y. Xin, and M. Schachner. Restricted localization of L1 and N-CAM at sites of contact between Schwann cells and neurites in culture. Glia 10:70–74, 1994.
Miller, C., S. Jeftinija, and S. Mallapragada. Micropatterned Schwann cell-seeded biodegradable polymer substrates significantly enhance neurite alignment and outgrowth. Tissue Eng. 7:705–715, 2001.
Miller, C., S. Jeftinija, and S. Mallapragada. Synergistic effects of physical and chemical guidance cues on neurite alignment and outgrowth on biodegradable polymer substrates. Tissue Eng. 8:367–378, 2002.
Rajnicek, A., S. Britland, and C. McCaig. Contact guidance of CNS neurites on grooved quartz: Influence of groove dimensions, neuronal age and cell type. J. Cell Sci. 110(Pt 23):2905–2913, 1997.
Rangappa, N., A. Romero, K. D. Nelson, R. C. Eberhart, and G. M. Smith. Laminin-coated poly(L-lactide) filaments induce robust neurite growth while providing directional orientation. J. Biomed. Mater. Res. 51:625–634, 2000.
Shen, Y. J., M. E. DeBellard, J. L. Salzer, J. Roder, and M. T. Filbin. Myelin-associated glycoprotein in myelin and expressed by Schwann cells inhibits axonal regeneration and branching. Mol. Cell. Neurosci. 12:79–91, 1998.
Tai, H. C., and H. M. Buettner. Neurite outgrowth and growth cone morphology on micropatterned surfaces. Biotechnol. Prog. 14:364–370, 1998.
Tessier-Lavigne, M. Axon guidance by diffusible repellants and attractants. Curr. Opin. Genet. Dev. 4:596–601, 1994.
Tessier-Lavigne, M., and M. Placzek. Target attraction: Are developing axons guided by chemotropism? Trends Neurosci. 14:303–310, 1991.
Thompson, D. M., and H. M. Buettner. Schwann cell response to micropatterned laminin surfaces. Tissue Eng. 7:247–265, 2001.
Thompson, D. M., and H. M. Buettner. Oriented Schwann cell monolayers for directed neurite outgrowth. Ann. Biomed. Eng. 32: 1120–1130, 2004.
Verdu, E., R. O. Labrador, F. J. Rodriguez, D. Ceballos, J. Fores, and X. Navarro. Alignment of collagen and laminin-containing gels improve nerve regeneration within silicone tubes. Restor. Neurol. Neurosci. 20:169–179, 2002.
Weiss, P. Experiments of cell and axon orientation in vitro: The role of colliodal exudates in tissue organization. J. Exp. Zool. 401–450, 1945.
Whitworth, I. H., R. A. Brown, C. Dore, C. J. Green, and G. Terenghi. Orientated mats of fibronectin as a conduit material for use in peripheral nerve repair. J. Hand Surg. [Br.] 20:429–436, 1995.
Williams, L. R., F. M. Longo, H. C. Powell, G. Lundborg, and S. Varon. Spatial-temporal progress of peripheral nerve regeneration within a silicone chamber: Parameters for a bioassay. J. Comp. Neurol. 218:460–470, 1983.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Wise Young and Kai Liu for helpful discussions, use of laboratory facilities, and technical assistance; Robin Davis and Crista Adamson for discussions concerning antibody selection; Surya Mallapragda and Greg Rutkowski for discussions about dissociation techniques. This work was supported by the Charles and Johanna Busch Memorial Fund, the Rutgers-UMDNJ Biotechnology Training Program, a Johnson & Johnson Research Fellowship (DMT), and an AAUW Selected Professions Dissertation Fellowship (DMT).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Thompson, D.M., Buettner, H.M. Neurite Outgrowth Is Directed by Schwann Cell Alignment in the Absence of Other Guidance Cues. Ann Biomed Eng 34, 161–168 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-005-9013-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-005-9013-4