A regenerative tissue must be able to switch between different states; a stable, functional tissue that remains more or less the same for the lifespan of the animal and a repairing tissue that aims to return to the homeostatic state. Peripheral nerve is such a tissue; highly quiescent and architecturally stable during adulthood, it retains remarkable regenerative capabilities.

 

Critical to this process is the Schwann cell, the major glial cell of the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS). In the adult, Schwann cells are normally quiescent and associated with axons, however, in response to injury, these cells undergo a dramatic change in cell-state to a more progenitor-like state and these cells orchestrate the multicellular response required for nerve regeneration.

 

Using a combination of powerful in vitro and in vivo models, advanced imaging technologies and molecular analyses, our lab explores fundamental questions associated with these changes in cell state and how addressing these questions provide insight into pathologies such as cancer, neuropathies and pain. These questions include: How is a stable adult tissue established and maintained? How does a tissue switch to a regenerative state following injury and then return to the homeostatic state? How are regenerative processes such as proliferation, inflammation, cell biogenesis and cell migration co-opted during tumourigenesis?