Denervated Schwann cells attract macrophages by secretion of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 in a process regulated by interleukin-6 and LIF

Injury to peripheral nerves results in the infiltration of immune cells, which remove axonal- and myelin-derived material. Schwann cells could play a key role in this process by regulating macrophage infiltration. We show here that medium conditioned by primary denervated Schwann cells or the Schwannoma cell line RN22 produces chemotactic activity for macrophages. The presence of blocking antibodies to macrophage chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) or leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) reduced this activity to similar to35 and 65% of control levels, respectively, and only 15% remained in the presence of both antibodies. The presence of chemotactic LIF in Schwann cell-conditioned medium was confirmed by using cells from lif-/- mice. Although interleukin-6 (IL-6) is not itself a chemotactic factor, we found that medium from il-6-/- nerves showed only 40% of the activity secreted by wild-type nerves. Furthermore, IL-6 rapidly induced LIF mRNA in primary Schwann cells, and LIF rapidly induced MCP-1 mRNA expression. Treatment of RN22 Schwannoma cells with IL-6 or LIF enhanced the secretion of the chemotactic activity of these cells.These observations show that Schwann cells attract macrophages by secreting MCP-1 and LIF. They also provide evidence for an autocrine-signaling cascade involving IL-6, LIF, and MCP-1, which amplifies the Schwann cell-derived chemotactic signals gradually, in agreement with the delayed entry of macrophages to injured nerves

Keeping African Girls in School with Better Sanitary Care

For young girls in developing countries, not knowing how to manage their periods can hinder access to education. Research from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London demonstrates that in rural Uganda, providing free sanitary products and lessons about puberty to girls may increase their attendance at school

Reducing School Dropout in Malawi and Lesotho

‘School in a bag’, buddy systems and catch-up clubs have paved the way for improved learning and reduced dropout in schools in Malawi and Lesotho. These pioneering techniques have been used by researchers from University College London’s Ins tute of Educa on and their Southern African partners to help ensure that disadvantaged children, particularly those affected by HIV/ AIDS, stay in school. Between April 2007 and July 2010, the team developed and piloted these distance- and flexible- learning techniques in 20 primary schools in Malawi and 16 secondary schools in Lesotho, all of which were located in areas where HIV/AIDS was highly prevalent and where school dropout rates were high. In both countries, the schools saw reduced dropout rates (up to 45 percent in Malawi), particularly for older children

Keeping African Girls in School with Better Sanitary Care

For young girls in developing countries, not knowing how to manage their periods can hinder access to education. Research from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London demonstrates that in rural Uganda, providing free sanitary products and lessons about puberty to girls may increase their attendance at school.ESRC-DFI

Putting the collective impact of global development research into perspective – what we learned from six years of the Impact Initiative

Reductions to UK aid have highlighted the need to understand both how international development research has, and can continue to, effect positive change. Here, Pauline Rose and Elizabeth Tofaris reflect on the Impact Initiative programme and what can be learned from six years of facilitating impact-focused research in global development

Mother Tongue Education Improves Literacy in Uganda

Children whose first language is not the language of instruction in school are more likely to drop out or fail in early grades. Research from the Universities of Illinois and their Ugandan partners Mango Tree Educational Enterprises and the Ichuli Institute, Kampala, demonstrates that the provision of teacher support and educational resources produced in local languages can lead to large learning gains in rural, under-resourced and overcrowded classrooms.ESRC-DFI

Improving Literacy Through Indigenous Languages in South Africa

To better understand early grade reading in African languages, a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from Stellenbosch University, the University of Cape Town, the University of South Africa and Funda Wande, together with the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in South Africa, are working towards a deeper understanding of higher reading gains in English and three African languages. In South African primary schools, more than three quarters of nine to ten year-olds fail to reach the expected benchmarks in reading. Despite the high proportion of children learning to read in their mother tongue, there is little research on African language reading. This research is contributing to the development of national reading benchmarks in indigenous languages, leading to deeper understanding of how proficiency in African languages can contribute to improved literacy.ESRC-DFI

Outsourcing Primary Education In Liberia Leads To Mixed Results

The long-lasting effects of a 14-year civil war, compounded by school closures caused by the 2014 Ebola outbreak, have had a huge impact on Liberia’s education system. In early 2016, the Liberian Ministry of Education announced that it would contract the operation of some government primary schools out to private companies. Researchers working with Innovations for Poverty Action examined the effects of these new partnerships and looked at how the schools deliver (or fail to deliver) better outcomes.ESRC-DFI

Improving Early Childhood Education in Rural Bangladesh

Only 40 per cent of children in Bangladesh are enrolled in pre-primary education, with this figure estimated to be much lower in rural areas. Research led by Monash University, Australia, and supported by local partner the Global Development and Research Initiative (GDRI) Foundation, has evaluated whether introducing preschooling in remote rural communities in Bangladesh can help prepare children for primary school. By developing a set of policy interventions designed to improve children’s educational outcomes, the research demonstrates how early childhood programmes could be effectively adapted for implementation at scale, using locally available resources and infrastructure.ESRC-DFI