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.
Article
Cell Biology
Sheng Zhang, Man Zhai, Yiwei Xu, Jiandong Han, Jiaxin Chen, Yucui Xiong, Shihua Pan, Qizheng Wang, Chunlai Yu, Zilong Rao, Qi Sun, Yufei Sui, Ke Fan, Heying Li, Wenjing Guo, Cuicui Liu, Ying Bai, Jing Zhou, Daping Quan, Xiao Zhang
Summary: Astrocytes, the most abundant and widespread glial cells in the central nervous system, play a crucial role in spinal cord injury repair. Decellularised spinal cord matrix (DSCM) has potential for SCI repair, but its specific mechanisms and niche alterations are not well understood. This study utilized single-cell RNA sequencing to investigate the regulatory mechanisms of DSCM on the glial niche in the neuro-glial-vascular unit.
CELL PROLIFERATION
(2023)
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
Clinical Neurology
Ruideng Wang, Rubing Zhou, Zhengyang Chen, Shan Gao, Fang Zhou
Summary: Glial cells play crucial roles in the healthy functioning of the central nervous system and in the repair of spinal cord injuries.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Dingyang Liu, He Shen, Yeyu Shen, Ge Long, Xinghui He, Yannan Zhao, Zhiquan Yang, Jianwu Dai, Xing Li
Summary: The study indicates that the scaffold loaded with dual cues shows good effects in promoting neuron and endothelial cell migration, as well as axon and vessel regeneration. Long-term therapeutic effects include revascularization, spinal cord axonal regeneration, fibrotic scar reduction, electrophysiological recovery, and motor function improvement.
ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Min Jung Kwon, Yeojin Seo, Hana Cho, Hyung Soon Kim, Young Joo Oh, Simay Geniscan, Minjae Kim, Hee Hwan Park, Eun-Hye Joe, Myung-Hee Kwon, Han Chang Kang, Byung Gon Kim
Summary: Preconditioning nerve injury can enhance axonal regeneration of DRG neurons by activating pro-regenerative perineuronal macrophages. This study reveals that oncomodulin (ONCM) produced from regeneration-associated macrophages strongly influences the regeneration of DRG sensory axons. Delivery of ONCM using a nanogel system can promote sensory axon regeneration following spinal cord injury.
Article
Cell Biology
Dana Klatt Shaw, Vishnu Muraleedharan Saraswathy, Lili Zhou, Anthony R. McAdow, Brooke Burris, Emily Butka, Samantha A. Morris, Sabine Dietmann, Mayssa H. Mokalled
Summary: Zebrafish possess specialized glial cells that spontaneously repair spinal cord injuries, while mammals lack the essential gene regulatory network that reprograms pro-regenerative zebrafish glia after injury.Activation of an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition gene program in zebrafish glia is a major factor distinguishing mammalian and zebrafish glia.
DEVELOPMENTAL CELL
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Menghon Cheah, Yuyan Cheng, Veselina Petrova, Anda Cimpean, Pavla Jendelova, Vivek Swarup, Clifford J. Woolf, Daniel H. Geschwind, James W. Fawcett
Summary: Sensory dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons in the peripheral branch regenerate readily after injury, but not in the central branch. However, expression of a9 integrin and its activator kindlin-1 (a9k1) enables axons to interact with tenascin-C, promoting extensive regeneration and reconnection of sensory axons in the spinal cord. Transcriptomic analyses of adult male rat DRG neurons revealed that a9k1 expression upregulates a known peripheral nerve regeneration program. Coupling a9k1 treatment with dorsal root axotomy leads to extensive central axonal regeneration, accompanied by the expression of a distinctive CNS regeneration program involving genes associated with ubiquitination, autophagy, ER, trafficking, and signaling. Pharmacological inhibition of these processes blocks axon regeneration, validating their causal contributions to sensory regeneration.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
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
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Pascal Achenbach, Laura Hillerbrand, Joseï L. Gerardo-Nava, Axel Dievernich, Dorothee Hodde, Antonio S. Sechi, Paul D. Dalton, Andrij Pich, Joachim Weis, Haktan Altinova, Gary A. Brook
Summary: Schwann cell transplantation is hindered by barrier formation between grafted cells and reactive astrocytes, limiting axonal regeneration. A cell confrontation assay revealed that oriented poly(& epsilon;-caprolactone) nanofibers reduced astrocyte reactivity and facilitated intermingling between Schwann cells and astrocytes, promoting neurite outgrowth. These findings have important implications for the design of biomaterial-based scaffolds for nervous tissue repair.
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Vaibhav Patil, Raghvendra Bohara, Vijaya Krishna Kanala, Siobhan Mcmahon, Abhay Pandit
Summary: Spinal cord injury leads to chronic inflammation and glial scar formation caused by the activation of microglia and astrocytes. Current anti-inflammatory strategies have limitations and do not consider the progression of glial cell-derived inflammation. Understanding this progression is crucial for evaluating therapeutic strategies. New models can be used as high-throughput screening platforms for novel therapeutics.
DRUG DISCOVERY TODAY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Caixia Fan, Wen Yang, Lulu Zhang, Hui Cai, Yan Zhuang, Yanyan Chen, Yannan Zhao, Jianwu Dai
Summary: Spinal cord injury is a severe damage to the central nervous system, often leading to the loss of spinal cord structure and function. Researchers have developed a new hydrogel material with mechanical and electrical properties similar to the spinal cord, which can be used for spinal cord regeneration. By introducing glutathione and MMP-responsive proteins into the hydrogel, biomolecules can be released in response to the microenvironment of spinal cord injury, promoting axon regeneration and angiogenesis, and improving motor function recovery.
Review
Cell Biology
Nadia Al-Sammarraie, Mohammed Mahmood, Swapan K. Ray
Summary: Spinal cord injury is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in young adults, and the difficulty in neuron regeneration is a main obstacle leading to permanent paralysis. Recent research has shown that preventing secondary damages to neurons and glial cells can slow down the progression of spinal cord injury by reactivating regenerative proteins like Noggin. However, the therapeutic efficacy and safety of Noggin treatment in human spinal cord injury still need more investigation.
NEURAL REGENERATION RESEARCH
(2023)
Review
Cell Biology
Vasiliki Tsata, Daniel Wehner
Summary: The capacity for long-distance axon regeneration and functional recovery after spinal cord injury is poor in mammals but remarkable in some vertebrates, like fish and salamanders. The cellular and molecular basis of this difference is starting to emerge, including the identification of target cells reacting to injury and cues directing pro-regenerative responses. Zebrafish is one of the most understood models in terms of successful spinal cord regeneration, with neuron-intrinsic and extrinsic factors playing pivotal roles in axon regeneration and function recovery.
Review
Neurosciences
Harun Najib Noristani
Summary: This article describes the different response of ascending dorsal column axons and descending corticospinal tract (CST) axons after spinal cord injury (SCI), as well as the efficacy of molecules targeting intrinsic axon regeneration in promoting their regrowth. Accumulating evidence suggests important differences in regenerative response between dorsal column and CST axons when targeting intrinsic pro-regenerative molecules.
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Kazuo Hayakawa, Christopher Haas, Ying Jin, Julien Bouyer, Takanobu Otsuka, Itzhak Fischer
Article
Neurosciences
Ying Jin, Julien Bouyer, Christopher Haas, Itzhak Fischer
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2015)
Article
Neurosciences
Brian K. Kwon, Femke Streijger, Caitlin E. Hill, Aileen J. Anderson, Mark Bacon, Michael S. Beattie, Armin Blesch, Elizabeth J. Bradbury, Arthur Brown, Jacqueline C. Bresnahan, Casey C. Case, Raymond W. Colburn, Samuel David, James W. Fawcett, Adam R. Ferguson, Itzhak Fischer, Candace L. Floyd, John C. Gensel, John D. Houle, Lyn B. Jakeman, Nick D. Jeffery, Linda Ann Truett Jones, Naomi Kleitman, Jeffery Kocsis, Paul Lu, David S. K. Magnuson, Martin Marsala, Simon W. Moore, Andrea J. Mothe, Martin Oudega, Giles W. Plant, Alexander Sasha Rabchevsky, Jan M. Schwab, Jerry Silver, Oswald Steward, Xiao-Ming Xu, James D. Guest, Wolfram Tetzlaff
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
(2015)
Review
Clinical Neurology
Michael A. Lane, Angelo C. Lepore, Itzhak Fischer
EXPERT REVIEW OF NEUROTHERAPEUTICS
(2017)
Editorial Material
Cell Biology
Xiao-bing Yuan, Christopher Haas, Itzhak Fischer
NEURAL REGENERATION RESEARCH
(2016)
Editorial Material
Cell Biology
Itzhak Fischer, Christopher Haas, Ramesh Raghupathi, Ying Jin
NEURAL REGENERATION RESEARCH
(2016)
Review
Cell Biology
Kazuo Hayakawa, Christopher Haas, Itzhak Fischer
NEURAL REGENERATION RESEARCH
(2016)
Article
Neurosciences
Y. Jin, J. Bouyer, J. S. Shumsky, C. Haas, I. Fischer
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Xiao-bing Yuan, Ying Jin, Christopher Haas, Lihua Yao, Kazuo Hayakawa, Yue Wang, Chunlei Wang, Itzhak Fischer
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2016)
Review
Clinical Neurology
Michael A. Lane, Angelo C. Lepore, Itzhak Fischer
EXPERT REVIEW OF NEUROTHERAPEUTICS
(2017)
Article
Critical Care Medicine
Alexander J. Krupka, Itzhak Fischer, Michel A. Lemay
JOURNAL OF NEUROTRAUMA
(2017)
Article
Neurosciences
Carla Christina Medalha, Ying Jin, Takaya Yamagami, Christopher Haas, Itzhak Fischer
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH
(2014)
Article
Cell Biology
Christopher Haas, Itzhak Fischer
NEURAL REGENERATION RESEARCH
(2014)
Article
Cell Biology
Ying Jin, Theresa Connors, Julien Bouyer, Itzhak Fischer
Summary: The superior cervical ganglion (SCG) is an important part of the autonomic nervous system and is commonly used in neuronal studies. During development, neurons in the SCG undergo a transition in tau expression from low molecular weight (LMW) isoforms to Big tau, which can impact tau-related functions. This transition is completed around 4-5 weeks after birth. The presence of Big tau in dissociated postnatal SCG neurons suggests that they can be an ideal system for studying the function of Big tau.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Karen Ollivier-Lanvin, Itzhak Fischer, Veronica Tom, John D. Houle, Michel A. Lemay
NEUROREHABILITATION AND NEURAL REPAIR
(2015)