Fig. 1.

Plastic changes of SCs following nerve injury. The figure depicts multiple aspects of SC plasticity following a physical damage to nerves. SC dedifferentiation refers to phenotype changes of mature SCs into an immature state. However, dedifferentiated SCs in injured nerves exhibit several unique features that are not observed in immature SCs, those are secretion of neurotrophic factors and cytokines and activation of lysosomal demyelination system. Expression of neurotrophic factors is essential for the survival of injured neurons and axonal regeneration, whereas cytokine expression is implicated in the chemotactic infiltration of monocytes into a lesion site.