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PNS REGENERATION

Schwann cell energy to die for

Nature Neuroscience volume 23, pages 1179–1181 (2020)Cite this article

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A Publisher Correction to this article was published on 12 November 2020

This article has been updated

A new study shows that, immediately after axon injury, glycolysis is increased in Schwann cells to provide axons with energy and prevent them from degenerating. The authors also identify possible therapeutic targets that could be modulated to promote axonal protection.

Axonal injury is an early event in several acute and chronic neurodegenerative disorders, and often results in neuronal cell death1. Preservation of axons’ integrity is thus crucial to prevent fast progression of this irreversible process. While the central role of neurons in degeneration has been thoroughly investigated1,2, recent studies have shown that Schwann cells, the myelinating glia of the peripheral nervous system (PNS), are also instrumental for the correct activation of the repair program3. However, whether and how Schwann cells and axons directly influence each other to promote regeneration as it occurs in the CNS4,5 has been a long-standing question that a new paper from Babetto and colleagues in this issue of Nature Neuroscience now begins to address6.

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Fig. 1: Schwann cells’ glycolytic switch in Wallerian degeneration.

Change history

  • 12 November 2020

    An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

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  1. INSPE, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy

    Amelia Trimarco & Carla Taveggia

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  1. Amelia Trimarco
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  2. Carla Taveggia
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Correspondence to Amelia Trimarco or Carla Taveggia.

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Trimarco, A., Taveggia, C. Schwann cell energy to die for. Nat Neurosci 23, 1179–1181 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-020-00707-2

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