Abstract 110: Myelinated Fiber Innervation of Human Intracranial Arteries: A Regulatory Role in Atherosclerosis

作者：Zijue Wang, Weizhuang Yuan, Yangzhige He, Manqiu Ding, Chao Ma, Zhen Chen, Naili Wang, Yan Xu, Weihai Xu · 发表于：Stroke · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1161/str.56.suppl_1.110 · 研究领域：Cardiovascular Disease and Adiposity

Background: Recent studies have shown that the autonomic nervous system plays a crucial role in regulating the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis in peripheral arteries. Animal studies suggest that intracranial arteries are innervated by unmyelinated autonomic nerves. However, the role of the autonomic nervous system in human intracranial atherosclerosis remains poorly understood. Methods: We utilized intracranial arterial tissue from human autopsies and employed single-cell RNA sequencing, transmission electron microscopy, and multiple immunofluorescence staining to investigate the mechanisms underlying the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. Results: We identified a population of Schwann cells in the walls of intracranial arteries. This discovery challenges conventional understanding, as Schwann cells are traditionally associated with the peripheral nervous system, and their presence in intracranial arteries has not been previously reported. Using transmission electron microscopy, we further found lamellar myelin structures within the arterial media, and the number of myelin sheaths was higher in the plague group than in the control group, suggesting that Schwann cells may participate in myelination within the arterial wall and then influence plaque progression. To elucidate the cellular communication networks involving Schwann cells, we utilized the CellChat analytical framework and found that Schwann cells had robust crosstalk with vascular smooth mu...