Development and regeneration of the nervous system: a role for neurosteroids.

Several steroids, termed 'neurosteroids', are synthesized from cholesterol within both the central and peripheral nervous systems. These include pregnenolone and its sulfate ester, progesterone and its 5 alpha-reduced metabolites. Dehydroepiandrosterone, mainly in its sulfated form, also remains present in the brain long after removal of the steroidogenic endocrine glands. Its biosynthesis in brain remains an open possibility, but the pathways involved are unknown. Little information is available concerning the role of neurosteroids during the maturation of the nervous system, although they are already synthesized by glial cells and by some populations of neurons during embryonic life. Cell culture experiments suggest that neurosteroids may increase the survival and differentiation of both neurons and glial cells. In the adult nervous system, neurosteroids modulate neurotransmission by acting directly on the neuronal membrane and also produce structural changes in neurons and in astrocytes. Studies of neurosteroid levels are currently conducted to examine their possible role during aging. We have recently reported that progesterone, synthesized by Schwann cells, promotes the formation of new myelin sheaths after lesion of the mouse sciatic nerve. Thus, neurosteroids may also play an important role during regeneration of the nervous system.