Plasminogen activators in developing peripheral nervous system, cellular origin and mitogenic effect.

Newborn rat dorsal root ganglia release two different plasminogen activators (PAs): the urokinase (UK) and the tissue (tPA) type. The former is secreted by neurons while the latter is secreted by Schwann cells. tPA release by Schwann cells is modulated by choleratoxin, a known mitogen for these cells. UK but not tPA stimulates in a dose-dependent fashion the proliferation of Schwann cells. This effect is observed in the absence of plasminogen, suggesting that the substrate for PAs in the developing nervous system is not plasminogen. Since UK is secreted by neurons, our data suggest a new mechanism for neuronal control of Schwann cell proliferation.