Adhesion molecules involved in macrophage responses to Wallerian degeneration in the murine peripheral nervous system
Abstract
When a peripheral nerve is damaged the severed axon undergoes Wallerian degeneration. The distal nerve is infiltrated by large numbers of monocyte-derived macrophages which participate in the phagocytosis of degenerating myelin. In other tissues, adhesion molecules play a crucial role in leukocyte recruitment during inflammation. Blood-borne cells enter damaged tissue by interacting with adhesion molecules expressed on activated endothelium. Having crossed the endothelium, leukocytes must adhere and migrate within the tissue. We investigated the adhesion molecules involved in both stages of the macrophage response to transection of one sciatic nerve of BALB/c mice. By injecting monoclonal antibodies in vivo, before and after peripheral nerve injury, we showed that intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and integrins alpha4beta1 (VLA-4) and alphaMbeta2 (type 3 complement receptor) are unlikely to be involved in the transendothelial migration of monocytes responding to peripheral nerve degeneration. We also studied the adhesion of macrophages within the endoneurium, using an in vitro adhesion assay. Macrophages showed much greater levels of adhesion to cryostat sections of transected nerves than to control nerves. This increa...Continue Reading
References
Ultrastructural localization of the major components of the extracellular matrix in normal rat nerve
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Adhesion Molecules in Health and Disease
Cell adhesion molecules are a subset of cell adhesion proteins located on the cell surface involved in binding with other cells or with the extracellular matrix in the process called cell adhesion. In essence, cell adhesion molecules help cells stick to each other and to their surroundings. Cell adhesion is a crucial component in maintaining tissue structure and function. Discover the latest research on adhesion molecule and their role in health and disease here.