Protein may promote nerve regeneration

Scientists at the national Salk Institute of biology recently pointed out that a specific protein in the human body can promote nerve regeneration, and they believe that this discovery may eventually help us develop a breakthrough treatment for patients with spinal injury or paralysis According to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, there are about 200000 people suffering from spinal cord injury in the United States, which is usually caused by traffic accidents, and may also come from violence or sports According to reports, animals other than primates can regenerate damaged nerves naturally after spinal cord injury Frogs, dogs, snails and whales all have such abilities The latest study published in the journal PLoS Biology found that a small molecule may have the ability to "persuade" damaged nerves to grow again and form neural circuits Kuo Fen Lee, the study's lead author, said the study suggested that we might be able to mimic the neural repair process in many other lower animals, providing hope for the treatment of similar symptoms in humans According to reports, when the slender axons of damaged nerve cells grow again and establish new connections with other cells, the function of the nerve cells can be restored When the spine is damaged, the axon in the spine is destroyed, and the myelin sheath with insulation function around the axon is torn, so the exposed nerve cells begin to degenerate, the communication between the nerve cells is disturbed, and the communication between the brain and the spinal cord is blocked Kuo Fen Lee and his colleagues conducted a study in 2013 They found that a protein called P45 can inhibit the inhibition of myelin on nerve growth, thus promoting nerve regeneration However, humans, primates and other higher invertebrates lack this protein These species produce another protein called p75, which will act on the myelin sheath of axon when nerve damage occurs, making it difficult for regeneration of damaged nerve Lee said there is no answer to why humans can't regenerate naturally They speculate that there are too many neural connections in the human brain Maybe such regeneration is not absolutely necessary In this study, the scientists examined the p75 protein in detail through the NMR technology The scientists of Salk Institute of biology found that the P45 protein can interfere with the pairing of two p75 proteins When the P45 protein was introduced, the number of p75 protein pairing decreased These p75 protein pairing is related to the regeneration inhibitor released by the myelin sheath It has been reported that when the number of p75 as a pair is reduced, the axons can grow again The findings of the study indicate that breaking the pairing between p75 and other means may be able to form a new treatment for spinal injury As for the means of breaking the pairing, P45 protein may be used, and new methods may be available Lee believes that such substances may have the ability to enter the spinal cord injury area through the blood-brain barrier (internship compiler: Chen Lurong reviewer: Qiu Tianhua