Physiological Significance of TRPV4 Channels in Non-Myelinating Schwann cells

Schwann cells (SCs) are specialized glial cells that wrap and protect axons in the peripheral nervous system (PNS). There are a variety of SCs including non-myelinating SCs such as Remak SCs, perisynaptic/ terminal SCs, repair/ Bunger SCs and nociceptive SCs that surround axons or axon terminals without forming myelin sheath. Non-myelinating SCs play important roles in proper myelin development and maintenance, repair and regeneration after injury, and nociception. A recently published work showed that transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4), a Ca2+-permeable permeable cation channel, is exclusively expressed in non-myelinating SCs rather than myelinating SCs and plays an important role in nerve demyelination in response to injury. In this short communication, we are going to review the recent studies and discuss the possible significance of TRPV4 channels in the non-myelinating SCs.