# The prohibitin family and their function in myelination and axonal health

> **NIH NIH R01** · STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO · 2020 · $340,976

## Abstract

Abstract.
Myelin is required for conduction of nerve impulses and to protect axons. Impaired
formation or destruction of myelin causes a series of debilitating diseases. Diseases of
peripheral myelin are among the most common neuromuscular disorders and cause
significant disability. The fundamental mechanisms that underlie how peripheral myelin-
forming Schwann cells differentiate and myelinate, how they maintain a healthy myelin
sheath and how they support axons are only partially understood. Using an innovative
system to study cell-cell interactions we recently identified a new family of molecules, the
prohibitins, which are required in Schwann cells in vivo to interact with axons, myelinate and
maintain healthy myelin and axons. Deletion of prohibitins in Schwann cells in mice causes
dys-myelination, de-myelination and axonal degeneration. Prohibitins are conserved
transmembrane proteins found in mitochondria, plasmamembranes and nuclei. They
function as signaling adaptors and chaperones and they are involved in adhesion, signaling,
and senescence. We propose to use a combination of state-of-the art and innovative
techniques in vivo and in vitro to test the hypotheses that prohibitin-2 in Schwann cells is
part of a plasma membrane signaling complex that interact with axons early in development,
while a prohibitin-1/prohibitin-2 complex in the mitochondria maintains myelin and axon
integrity. We will identify prohibitins interactors and discover how prohibitins regulate
senescence, proteostasis and mitochondria function in Schwann cells. These data are likely
to define the novel function of prohibitins in myelination and axon protection, and may reveal
new molecular mechanisms that are important for axo-glial interactions during peripheral
neuropathies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9960595
- **Project number:** 5R01NS100464-05
- **Recipient organization:** STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO
- **Principal Investigator:** M. Laura Feltri
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $340,976
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-09-15 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9960595

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9960595, The prohibitin family and their function in myelination and axonal health (5R01NS100464-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9960595. Licensed CC0.

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