VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL CADHERIN IS EXPRESSED BY PERINEURIAL CELLS OF PERIPHERAL-NERVE

Aims: To study the distribution of vascular endothelial (VE) cadherin in peripheral nerves. Methods and results: Using two monoclonal antibo dies that detect VE-cadherin (TEA1.31 and 7B4) an immunohistochemical study of VE-cadherin expression in five common peroneal nerve biopsies and five skin specimens containing small peripheal nerves was perform ed. VE-cadherin was consistently expressed by the perineurium of nerve s but not by other nerve elements such as Schwann cells or axons, Conc lusion: This report indicates that VE-cadherin is not, as was previous ly thought, a specific marker of endothelial cells and further defines the phenotype of the perineurial cell. The established role of VE-cad herin in controlling the permeability of vascular endothelium suggests that this molecule may have a similar role in the perineurium. VE-cad herin may therefore be important in the maintenance of the blood-nerve barrier, the peripheral nerve equivalent of the blood-brain barrier.