Parasympathetic ganglia derive from Schwann cell precursors

• DOI: 10.1126/science.1253286
• Publication Date: 2014-06-13T07:43:13Z
• Authors: I. Espinosa-Medina; E. Outin; C. A. Picard; Z. Chettouh; S. Dymecki; G. G. Consalez; E. Coppola; J.-F. Brunet
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; 03 medical and health sciences; Animals; Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors; Cranial Nerves; Down-Regulation; Ganglia, Parasympathetic; Homeodomain Proteins; Mice; Mice, Knockout; Nerve Tissue Proteins; Neural Crest; Neural Stem Cells; Neurogenesis; Neurons; Schwann Cells; Transcription Factors; Multidisciplinary; Medicine (all); 3. Good health

Exploiting nervous paths already traveled

The parasympathetic nervous system helps regulate the functions of many tissues and organs, including the salivary glands and the esophagus. To do so, it needs to reach throughout the body, connecting central systems to peripheral ones. Dyachuk et al. and Espinosa-Medina et al. explored how these connections are established in mice (see the Perspective by Kalcheim and Rohrer). Progenitor cells that travel along with the developing nerves can give rise to both myelinforming Schwann cells and to parasympathetic neurons. That means the interacting nerves do not have to find each other. Instead, the beginnings of the connections are laid down as the nervous system develops.

Science , this issue p. 82 , p. 87 ; see also p. 32