T-cells in neuronal injury and repair: semaphorins and related T-cell signals.

There are many parallels between the hematopoietic and the nervous systems in terms of mechanisms regulating their development and functions. In neuroinflammatory diseases, interaction between the immune and nervous systems through shared molecules is suspected to trigger an inappropriate crosstalk and lead to demyelination and axonal loss. Here we focus on semaphorins and their functions in the nervous and immune systems and point out the deleterious effect of an immune semaphorin, semaphorin 4D (Sema4D)/CD100, on oligodendrocyte integrity and survival. We propose immune semaphorins as new candidates involved in the pathogenic mechanisms of neuroinflammatory diseases, promoting demyelination, and impairing neuroregeneration.