REVIEW article

Front. Mol. Neurosci.

Sec. Molecular Signalling and Pathways

Volume 18 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2025.1617976

Roles of ERK signaling pathway in regulating myelination of the peripheral nervous system

Provisionally accepted
  • Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Myelination of Schwann cells is a complex biological process that plays a crucial role in peripheral nervous system (PNS) development and repair. Recent studies have indicated that the extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) signaling pathway participates in both developmental PNS myelination and remyelination. This review focuses on recent evidence identifying the roles of the ERK signaling pathway in regulating Schwann cell differentiation, myelination, and remyelination. In addition, the crosstalk between the ERK signaling pathway and other cellular signaling pathways that control Schwann cell myelination, such as c-Jun and Notch, are discussed. This review provides an overview of recent studies, revealing that dysregulated expression of the ERK signaling pathway participated in the pathogenesis of hereditary and acquired peripheral neuropathies.

Keywords: ERK, Myelination, remyelination, Schwann cell, Peripheral Nervous System

Received: 25 Apr 2025; Accepted: 28 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Liu and Zhou. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Di Liu, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China

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