title: Perineurium originates from fibroblasts: demonstration in vitro with a retroviral marker.
abstract: A cellular sheath, the perineurium, forms a protective barrier around fascicles of nerve fibers throughout the peripheral nervous system. In a study to determine the cellular origin of perineurium, a culture system was used in which perineurium forms after purified populations of sensory neurons, Schwann cells, and fibroblasts are recombined. Before recombination, the Schwann cells or the fibroblasts were labeled by infection with a defective recombinant retrovirus whose gene product, beta-galactosidase, is histochemically detectable in the progeny of infected cells. Perineurial cells were labeled when fibroblasts had been infected but not when Schwann cells had been infected. Thus, perineurium arises from fibroblasts in vitro and, by implication, in vivo as well.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110.
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Bunge
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Tynan
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Bates
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Sanes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002472:Cell Transformation, Viral; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003239:Connective Tissue Cells; D005333:Fetus; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology*; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000166:cytology*; D005796:Genes; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology*; D051381:Rats; D012190:Retroviridae / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D012583:Schwann Cells / Q000166:cytology; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D001616:beta-Galactosidase