FK506 and the role of the immunophilin FKBP-52 in nerve regeneration

In this review, I present a brief overview of the immunosuppressant action of FK506 and my discovery that it also accelerates nerve regeneration in the rat peripheral nervous system (for a more detailed review, see Ref. 1). The purpose of the review is to show how studies on the mechanism by which FK506 elicits its neurotrophic activity have lead to the discovery of a novel pathway regulating nerve regeneration. Knowledge of the correct target mediating the neurotrophic activity of the neuroimmunophilin ligands will enable the rationale design of new neurotrophic drugs.