Schwann Cells

A myelin-secreting glial cell that spirally wraps around an axon of the Peripheral Nervous System to form the myelin sheath.

CMT1A, CMT1E, and HNPP are each caused by mutations of the PERIPHERAL MYELIN PROTEIN 22 gene. This gene instructs Schwann cells to make peripheral nerve myelin. The mutations in this gene that cause CMT cause a disruption to the instructions in Schwann cells.