Understanding node assembly during myelination of peripheral nerves

After a five year project, Professor Peter Brophy and colleagues (including Dr Elise Malavasi, Dr Aniket Ghosh and Dr Diane Sherman) from the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, as well as colleagues from University of Strathclyde and University of Nottingham, have published a comprehensive paper in eLife that outlines a new mechanism during the early processes in the formation of nodes of Ranvier - the involvement of early clusters of highly mobile nodal protein complexes.

The formation of these regular nodal gaps, rich in ion channels, during neuron myelination is critical for fast transmission of electrical impulses in both the central and peripheral nervous systems. Disruption of these nodal complexes leads to abnormal nervous system function and severe neurodevelopment defects in humans.

This study demonstrates that mobile clusters of proteins appear at a very early stage of the formation of nodes of Ranvier and that their assembly and progression is a first step in the sequential assembly and formation of these critically important structures.