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A group of scientists from UCLA, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, and Harvard University have discovered, through an experimental investigation in mice, a key factor in regaining functional ability following spinal cord injury. Neuroscientists have shown that recovery from mobility paralysis occurs when neurons are regrown in their original target regions rather than randomly.
After spinal cord injury in rodents, the team discovered a treatment that stimulates the growth of axons, the small fibers that connect nerve cells and enable them to interact. Although this strategy was effective in regenerating axons across large areas of damaged spinal cord, full functional recovery remained a significant hurdle.
In a new study published in Science, the researchers set out to see if spinal cord injury in mice could be effectively treated by guiding the regrowth of axons from certain neuronal groups to their natural target locations. In the first step, they used cutting-edge genetic research to pinpoint specific populations of nerve cells responsible for facilitating mobility recovery following partial spinal cord injury.
According to the researchers, axon regeneration from these nerve cells across the spinal cord lesion had no effect on functional recovery. However, major improvements in walking ability were reported in a mouse model of total spinal cord injury when the technique was refined to include the use of chemical signals to attract and guide the regeneration of these axons to their natural target site in the lumbar spinal cord.
Professor of neurobiology at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine and senior author Michael Sofroniew, MD, Ph.D., said that their study provides important clues into the complex nature of axon regeneration and requirements for functional recovery after spinal cord injuries. Important neurological restoration requires not just regenerating axons across injuries, but also actively guiding them to reach their native target locations.
The authors propose that a key to developing therapeutics to restore neural capabilities in larger animals and humans is recognizing the importance of re-establishing the projections of unique neuronal specific populations to their native target locations. Promoting regeneration over greater distances in non-rodents is challenging, and will require techniques with complex spatial and temporal aspects.
Nonetheless, they conclude that their work will uncover a foundation to achieve meaningful repair of the injured spinal cord, and can accelerate regeneration after various kinds of central nervous system injury and disease.
Sources:
Jordan W. Squair et al. (2023). Recovery of walking after paralysis by regenerating characterized neurons to their natural target region, Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.adi6412. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adi6412
https://phys.org/news/2023-09-scientists-regenerate-neurons-mice-paralysis.html
Keywords: neuron regeneration, mobility paralysis
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