Cell Stem Cell: Key protein promotes spinal injury repair

Researchers at UT Southwestern University and Indiana University used genetic engineering techniques to reprogram the scar-forming cells in the mouse spinal cord to generate new nerve cells, thereby stimulating recovery after spinal cord injury.

Cells in certain body tissues will proliferate after injury, and as part of the healing process, it will replace dead or damaged cells.

Zhang pointed out that the brain relies on progenitor cells to initiate different regeneration pathways, so the ability to generate new nerve cells is limited.

The researchers used mouse spinal cord injury models to search for markers normally found in immature neurons in the injured spinal cord of animals.

NG2 glial cells are the progenitor cells of oligodendrocytes, and oligodendrocytes produce an insulating fat layer surrounding neurons.

In order to determine the cause of the changes in NG2 glial cells, the researchers focused on SOX2 (a stem cell protein induced by damage).

Instead, Zhang and his colleagues used another genetic manipulation technique to overproduce SOX2 in NG2 glial cells.

More hopefully, this genetic engineering has led to improved function after spinal cord injury.

In the end, researchers may be able to find a safe and effective way to overproduce SOX2 in human spinal cord injury patients, thereby helping them repair the damage with new neurons while reducing the formation of scar tissue.

Information source: Putting a protein into overdrive to heal spinal cord injuries

Original source: Cell Stem Cell (2021).