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Nerve Regeneration Occurs in the Absence of Apolipoprotein E in Mice
Author(s) -
Popko Brian,
Goodrum Jeffry F.,
Bouldin Thomas W.,
Zhang Sunny H.,
Maeda Nobuyo
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1993.tb03268.x
Subject(s) - apolipoprotein e , myelin , sciatic nerve , regeneration (biology) , peripheral nervous system , endocrinology , medicine , apolipoprotein b , biology , receptor , anatomy , microbiology and biotechnology , cholesterol , central nervous system , disease
The concentration of apolipoprotein E (apoE), a high‐affinity ligand for the low‐density lipoprotein receptor, increases dramatically in peripheral nerve following injury. This endoneurial apoE is thought to play an important role in the redistribution of lipids from the degenerating axonal and myelin membranes to the regenerating axons and myelin sheaths. The importance of apoE in nerve repair was examined using mutant mice that lack apoE. We show that at 2 and 4 weeks following sciatic nerve crush, regenerating nerves in apoE‐deficient mice were morphologically similar to regenerating nerves in control animals, indicating that apoE is not essential for peripheral nerve repair. Moreover, cholesterol synthesis was reduced in regenerating nerves of apoE‐deficient mice as much as in regenerating nerves of control animals. These results suggest that the intraneural conservation and reutilization of cholesterol following nerve injury do not require apoE.