Interleukin-17 impedes schwann cell-mediated myelination

Background: pro-inflammatory cytokines are known to have deleterious effects on schwann cells (scs). interleukin 17 (il-17) is a potent pro-inflammatory cytokine that exhibits relevant effects during inflammation in the peripheral nervous system (pns),and il-17-secreting cells have been reported within the endoneurium in proximity to the scs.methods: here,we analyzed the effects of il-17 on myelination and the immunological properties of scs. dorsal root ganglia (drg) co-cultures containing neurons and scs from bl6 mice were used to define the impact of il-17 on myelination and on sc differentiation; primary scs were analyzed for rna and protein expression to define the putative immunological alignment of the scs.results: scs were found to functionally express the il-17 receptors a and b. in drg cultures,stimulation with il-17 resulted in reduced myelin synthesis,while pro-myelin gene expression was suppressed at the mrna level. neuronal outgrowth and sc viability,as well as structural myelin formation,remained unaffected. co-cultures exhibited sc-relevant pro-inflammatory markers,such as matrix metalloproteinase 9 and scs significantly increased the expression of the major histocompatibility complex (mhc) i and exhibited a slight,nonsignificant increase in expression of mhcii,and a transporter associated with antigen presentation (tap) ii molecules relevant for antigen processing and presentation.conclusions: il-17 may act as a myelin-suppressive mediator in the peripheral nerve,directly propagating sc-mediated demyelination,paralleled by an inflammatory alignment of the scs. further analyses are warranted to elucidate the role of il-17 during inflammation in the pns in vivo,which could be useful in the development of target therapies. © 2014 stettner et al.; licensee biomed central ltd.