WHAT ARE SCHWANN CELLS?

Schwann cells (SC) are a type of cell found throughout the entire peripheral nervous system (PNS). The PNS includes all nerves going out to muscles as well as sensory nerves coming from the muscles back to the spinal cord. They are a type of “support” cell in the PNS.

Some important points about these cells are:

• to insulate (myelinate) individual nerve fibers (axons), which is necessary for sending appropriate electrical signals throughout the nervous system.
• they are not stem cells, they are adult cells and can only be Schwann cells.
• are absolutely essential for regeneration in the injured PNS.