REMODELLING DURING REMYELINATION IN THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

Abstract
Morphologic analysis of longitudinal sections of lumbar anterior root tissue from rabbits at different stages of chronic allergic encephalomyelitis has revealed new information on Schwann cell behavior during early remyelination. Some short remyelinated internodes were displaced laterally towards nodes as other internodes elongated in a stepwise fashion to occupy the vacated axonal segments. A Schwann cell apparently possesses the ability to remodel its myelin sheath after the initial establishment of the internode. Subaxolemmal densification was formed wherever pairs of Schwann cells overlapped and gap junctions were observed between young Schwann cells.