Review
Emergency Medicine
Yu Zhang, Shuhai Yang, Chang Liu, Xiaoxiao Han, Xiaosong Gu, Songlin Zhou
Summary: Spinal cord injury often results in permanent disability due to the loss of functional recovery. The formation of a glial scar around the damaged tissue can interrupt the healing process, and therapeutic treatments targeting scar components are important for improving functional recovery.
Review
Cell Biology
Lucila Perez-Gianmarco, Maria Kukley
Summary: Spinal cord injury (SCI) affects millions of people, mainly young individuals, causing deficits in sensory, motor, and autonomic functions. Regrowth of axons is a crucial goal for neurological recovery after SCI, but is challenging due to the formation of a glial scar. Traditionally considered detrimental, recent evidence suggests that glial scars are beneficial for surrounding spared tissue. Experimental studies in rodent models have shown that removal of specific glial cell populations disrupts scar organization, increases inflammation, extends tissue degeneration, and impairs recovery after SCI.
Review
Immunology
Qi-Ming Pang, Si-Yu Chen, Qi-Jing Xu, Sheng-Ping Fu, Yi-Chun Yang, Wang-Hui Zou, Meng Zhang, Juan Liu, Wei-Hong Wan, Jia-Chen Peng, Tao Zhang
Summary: Inflammatory response and glial scar formation play crucial roles in spinal cord injury and repair. The role of MSCs in regulating neuroinflammation and glial scar formation after SCI is also significant.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Misaal Patel, Jeremy Anderson, Shunyao Lei, Zachary Finkel, Brianna Rodriguez, Fatima Esteban, Rebecca Risman, Ying Li, Ki-Bum Lee, Yi Lisa Lyu, Li Cai
Summary: Nkx6.1 expression in the adult injured spinal cord promotes cell proliferation and activation of endogenous neural stem/progenitor cells, leading to increased interneuron number, reduced reactive astrocytes, minimized glial scar formation, and repressed neuroinflammation. Transcriptomic analysis reveals upregulation of genes involved in cell proliferation, neural differentiation, and Notch signaling pathway, as well as downregulation of genes and pathways related to neuroinflammation, astrocyte activation, and glial scar formation. It supports the potential role of Nkx6.1 in neural regeneration in the adult injured spinal cord.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Tetsuya Tamaru, Kazu Kobayakawa, Hirokazu Saiwai, Daijiro Konno, Ken Kijima, Shingo Yoshizaki, Kazuhiro Hata, Hirotaka Iura, Gentaro Ono, Yohei Haruta, Kazuki Kitade, Kei-Ichiro Iida, Ken-Ichi Kawaguchi, Yoshihiro Matsumoto, Kensuke Kubota, Takeshi Maeda, Seiji Okada, Yasuharu Nakashima
Summary: Spinal cord injury causes different phenotypic changes in astrocytes, leading to glial scar formation. The characteristics of glial scars change over time, but scar-forming astrocytes have autonomous function to form and maintain glial scars.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Byeong Gwan Song, Su Yeon Kwon, Jae Won Kyung, Eun Ji Roh, Hyemin Choi, Chang Su Lim, Seong Bae An, Seil Sohn, Inbo Han
Summary: Synaptic cell adhesion molecules (SynCAMs), specifically SynCAM3, play a crucial role in synapse formation and maintenance as well as synaptic plasticity regulation. Through its involvement in the connection between axons and astrocytes, SynCAM3 has been found to be associated with astrocytic scar formation following central nervous system (CNS) injuries. This study explores the impact of selective removal of SynCAM3 on spinal cord injury (SCI) outcomes, highlighting its role in the prevention of scar-forming astrocytes and promoting extracellular matrix (ECM) reconstitution, ultimately leading to improved functional recovery.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Review
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Ce Zhang, Jianning Kang, Xiaodi Zhang, Ying Zhang, Nana Huang, Bin Ning
Summary: Spinal cord injury leads to scar formation and irreversible loss of function due to complex inflammatory and pathological processes. Studies have shown promising therapeutic results by targeting the cellular and extracellular matrix components of spinal cord scars, such as chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans. Moreover, the application of new technologies has contributed to a better understanding of the cellular mechanisms involved in scar formation.
BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY
(2022)
Review
Cell Biology
Tanner Clifford, Zachary Finkel, Brianna Rodriguez, Adelina Joseph, Li Cai
Summary: Spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to permanent and degenerating damage to the central nervous system (CNS). The formation of glial scar plays a role in segregating neural lesion and protecting surrounding healthy tissue, but it also inhibits regeneration. Therapeutic strategies have been developed to overcome the negative effects, including scar prevention, scar resolution, cell transplantation, and cell reprogramming. This review focuses on the molecular and cellular aspects of glial scar formation and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of different regeneration-promoting strategies after SCI.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hidenori Suzuki, Takashi Sakai
Summary: Chronic spinal cord injury is a devastating condition with significant neurological deficits and socio-economic burdens. Symptomatic management is currently the main approach, but innovative regenerative strategies involving stem cells and other supportive drugs show promise in accelerating the pathway from bench to bedside. Future therapies targeting persistent barriers to regeneration, such as glial scarring and immunorejection, will likely require a combination of stem cells and synergistic approaches.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Jin Young Hong, Junseon Lee, Hyun Kim, Changhwan Yeo, Wan-Jin Jeon, Yoon Jae Lee, In- Hyuk Ha
Summary: Spinal cord injury often leads to the formation of glial scar tissue, hindering neural regeneration. This study demonstrates that Shinbaro2 (Sh2) can ameliorate glial scars and promote axon growth after spinal cord injury. Sh2 reduces inflammation, inhibits scar formation, and enhances motor function recovery.
BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Guixin Zhang, Li-Qing Jin, William Rodemer, Jianli Hu, Zachary D. Root, Daniel M. Medeiros, Michael E. Selzer
Summary: Axon regrowth is inhibited after spinal cord injury due to extracellular molecules in the central nervous system. However, lamprey axons can regenerate even with the presence of inhibitory molecules. The study found that lamprey lecticans, a type of inhibitory molecule, are expressed widely in glia and neurons and their expression levels increase after spinal cord injury.
FRONTIERS IN MOLECULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Review
Neurosciences
Areez Shafqat, Ibrahem Albalkhi, Hamzah M. Magableh, Tariq Saleh, Khaled Alkattan, Ahmed Yaqinuddin
Summary: Poor axonal regeneration and functional recovery after SCI is not primarily due to the injury scar, but rather a failure to stimulate axon growth adequately. Targeting neuroinflammation and glial scarring may not be as effective as neuron-directed approaches. This raises questions about the viability of these translational avenues.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Review
Cell Biology
Amanda Phuong Tran, Philippa Mary Warren, Jerry Silver
Summary: Severe spinal cord injury leads to permanent loss of function and sensation, forming a glial/fibrotic scar. The importance of scar modulation in recovery after traumatic injury is increasingly recognized. Future therapeutic approaches should focus on scar modulation for restoring function.
CELL AND TISSUE RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Surgery
Georgii B. Telegin, Alexey N. Minakov, Aleksandr S. Chernov, Vitaly A. Kazakov, Elena A. Kalabina, Vasily N. Manskikh, Dmitry S. Asyutin, Alexey A. Belogurov, Alexander G. Gabibov, Nikolay A. Konovalov, Aldo Spallone
Summary: A novel model of post-traumatic spinal cord glial scarring in rats has been developed through cryoapplication, resulting in a highly standardized transmural lesion. Compared to other experimental methods, this technique is minimally invasive, precise, and reproducible, showing minimal variation in histological findings and postoperative clinical course among different animals. The study aims to better understand self-recovery processes in damaged spinal cord and potentially lead to innovative approaches for SCI treatment.
FRONTIERS IN SURGERY
(2021)
Review
Neurosciences
Hidenori Suzuki, Yasuaki Imajo, Masahiro Funaba, Norihiro Nishida, Takuya Sakamoto, Takashi Sakai
Summary: Chronic spinal cord injury is a devastating condition without effective treatment. Clinical studies using neural stem/neural progenitor cells (NSCs/NPCs) are ongoing and show potential for regenerating neural circuits, demyelinating denuded axons, and providing trophic support to endogenous cells.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
