The twitcher mouse. An alteration of the unmyelinated fibers in the PNS

The twitcher is an authentic murine model of globoid cell leukodystrophy (GLD) in man. Extensive demyelination of the central and peripheral nervous systems (CNS and PNS) characterizes the neuropathologic features of GLD. In the common peroneal nerve of the twitcher, where demyelination was extensive, pronounced morphologic and quantitative alterations were noted in the unmyelinated fibers. They were 1) a large number of long and attenuated cellular processes of Schwann cells, which often enclosed only one or two axons; and 2) a threefold increase in the number of Schwann cell-axon units with reduced numbers of axons per unit. These results suggested increased branching of unmyelinated Schwann cells. Mild increase in unmyelinated fibers and mild decrease in myelinated fibers were additional features. In contrast, the sympathetic nerve trunk, which had only small numbers of myelinated and rare or no demyelinated fibers, showed much milder alterations in the unmyelinated fibers. Thus, the results of our study suggest that the alterations of the Schwann cells of the unmyelinated fibers in the twitcher are secondary to or in association with the chronic demyelinating process.