Go to JCI Insight
  • About
  • Editors
  • Consulting Editors
  • For authors
  • Alerts
  • Advertising/recruitment
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • By specialty
    • Cardiology
    • Gastroenterology
    • Immunology
    • Metabolism
    • Nephrology
    • Neuroscience
    • Oncology
    • Pulmonology
    • Vascular biology
    • All...
  • Videos
    • Conversations with Giants in Medicine
    • Author's Takes
  • Reviews
    • View all reviews...
    • Mechanisms Underlying the Metabolic Syndrome (Oct 2019)
    • Reparative Immunology (Jul 2019)
    • Allergy (Apr 2019)
    • Biology of familial cancer predisposition syndromes (Feb 2019)
    • Mitochondrial dysfunction in disease (Aug 2018)
    • Lipid mediators of disease (Jul 2018)
    • Cellular senescence in human disease (Apr 2018)
    • View all review series...
  • Collections
    • Recently published
    • In-Press Preview
    • Commentaries
    • Concise Communication
    • Editorials
    • Viewpoint
    • Scientific Show Stoppers
    • Top read articles
  • Clinical Medicine
  • JCI This Month
    • Current issue
    • Past issues

  • About
  • Editors
  • Consulting Editors
  • For authors
  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • By specialty
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Conversations with Giants in Medicine
  • Author's Takes
  • Recently published
  • Brief Reports
  • Technical Advances
  • Commentaries
  • Editorials
  • Hindsight
  • Review series
  • Reviews
  • The Attending Physician
  • First Author Perspectives
  • Scientific Show Stoppers
  • Top read articles
  • Concise Communication
Cancer’s got nerve: Schwann cells drive perineural invasion
Salma H. Azam, Chad V. Pecot
Salma H. Azam, Chad V. Pecot
Published April 1, 2016; First published March 21, 2016
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2016;126(4):1242-1244. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI86801.
View: Text | PDF
Category: Commentary

Cancer’s got nerve: Schwann cells drive perineural invasion

  • Text
  • PDF
Abstract

The invasion of cancer cells around and into nerves is associated with increased cancer aggression and poor patient outcome. As this perineural invasion increases disease severity, a better understanding of how the process is regulated may help in the development of therapeutics to target neuronal involvement in cancer. In this issue of the JCI, Deborde and colleagues show that direct contact between Schwann cells and cancer cells promotes cancer cell dissociation, migration, and invasion. Moreover, their data specifically suggest NCAM1 as an important molecular mediator of this Schwann cell–directed regulation of cancer cells in perineural invasion. The results of this study provide new insight into the cellular and molecular mechanisms of perineural invasion.

Authors

Salma H. Azam, Chad V. Pecot

×

Figure 1

Schwann cells mediate perineural invasion.

Options: View larger image (or click on image) Download as PowerPoint
Schwann cells mediate perineural invasion.
Dedifferentiated Schwann cell...
Dedifferentiated Schwann cells come into direct contact with cancer cells. This direct contact results in the extension of protrusions from the cancer cells. Schwann cells intercalate between cancer cells, thereby promoting cancer dispersal from the tumor and migration toward the neuron. These steps ultimately lead to perineural invasion.
Follow JCI:
Copyright © 2019 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)

Sign up for email alerts