Schwann cells are a regenerative cell type. Following nerve injury, a differentiated myelinating Schwann cell can dedifferentiate and regain the potential to proliferate. These cells then redifferentiate during the repair process. This behaviour is important for successful axonal repair, but the signalling pathways mediating the switch between the two differentiation states remain unclear. Sustained activation of the Ras/Raf/ERK cascade in primary cells results in a cell cycle arrest and has been implicated in the differentiation of certain cell types, in many cases acting to promote differentiation. We therefore investigated its effects on the differentiation state of Schwann cells. Surprisingly, we found that Ras/Raf/ERK signalling drives the dedifferentiation of Schwann cells even in the presence of normal axonal signalling. Furthermore, nerve wounding in vivo results in sustained ERK signalling in associated Schwann cells. Elevated Ras signalling is thought to be important in the development of Schwann cell-derived tumours in neurofibromatosis type 1 patients. Our results suggest that the effects of Ras signalling on the differentiation state of Schwann cells may be important in the pathogenesis of these tumours.

Mutations in CHMP2B cause frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in a large Danish pedigree, which is termed FTD linked to chromosome 3 (FTD-3), and also in an unrelated familial FTD patient. CHMP2B is a component of the ESCRT-III complex, which is required for function of the multivesicular body (MVB), an endosomal structure that fuses with the lysosome to degrade endocytosed proteins. We report a novel endosomal pathology in CHMP2B mutation-positive patient brains and also identify and characterize abnormal endosomes in patient fibroblasts. Functional studies demonstrate a specific disruption of endosome–lysosome fusion but not protein sorting by the MVB. We provide evidence for a mechanism for impaired endosome–lysosome fusion whereby mutant CHMP2B constitutively binds to MVBs and prevents recruitment of proteins necessary for fusion to occur, such as Rab7. The fusion of endosomes with lysosomes is required for neuronal function and the data presented therefore suggest a pathogenic mechanism for FTD caused by CHMP2B mutations.

Replicative senescence is thought to be an intrinsic mechanism for limiting the proliferative life-span of normal somatic cells. We show here that rat Schwann cells can be expanded indefinitely in culture while maintaining checkpoints normally lost during the immortalization process. These findings demonstrate that senescence is not an inevitable consequence of extended proliferation in culture.