Oct6, a Transcription Factor Controlling Myelination, is a Marker for Active Nerve Regeneration in Peripheral Neuropathies

Three transcription factors, Krox20 (EGR2), Oct6 (SCIP/Tst1) and Sox10, are considered necessary for transition from the nonmyelinating to the myelinating stage of Schwann cell development. We immunohistochemically studied Oct6 expression in peripheral nerve specimens from 25 patients with various diseases including Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A (CMT1A). Oct6 was present in cytoplasm of Schwann cells associated with normal-appearing myelinated nerve fibers, but not in nuclei. Expression was seen in nuclei of Schwann cells in the early phase of acute axonal degeneration; nuclear expression peaked at the regenerative stage. Schwann cells forming "onion bulbs" expressed Oct6 in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), but showed minimal expression in CMT1A, reflecting their proliferative activity in CIDP. Nerves showing chronic axonal loss had no expression. Oct6, then, may be a marker for dedifferentiation of adult Schwann cells and active nerve regeneration.