中国神经再生研究(英文版) ›› 2022, Vol. 17 ›› Issue (7): 1440-1445.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.330590

• 综述:脊髓损伤修复保护与再生 • 上一篇    下一篇

神经元重编程治疗脊髓损伤

  

  • 出版日期:2022-07-15 发布日期:2022-01-15

Neuronal reprogramming in treating spinal cord injury

Xuanyu Chen, Hedong Li*   

  1. Department of Neuroscience & Regenerative Medicine, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA
  • Online:2022-07-15 Published:2022-01-15
  • Contact: Hedong Li, PhD, hedli@augusta.edu.
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by startup funds from Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University (to HL) and by National Institutes of Health R01NS117918, R21NS104394, and R21NS119732 (to HL). 

摘要: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9814-1201 (Hedong Li)

Abstract: Spinal cord injury represents a devastating central nervous system injury that could impair the mobility and sensory function of afflicted patients. The hallmarks of spinal cord injury include neuroinflammation, axonal degeneration, neuronal loss, and reactive gliosis. Furthermore, the formation of a glial scar at the injury site elicits an inhibitory environment for potential neuroregeneration. Besides axonal regeneration, a significant challenge in treating spinal cord injury is to replenish the neurons lost during the pathological process. However, despite decades of research efforts, current strategies including stem cell transplantation have not resulted in a successful clinical therapy. Furthermore, stem cell transplantation faces serious hurdles such as immunorejection of the transplanted cells and ethical issues. In vivo neuronal reprogramming is a recently developed technology and leading a major breakthrough in regenerative medicine. This innovative technology converts endogenous glial cells into functional neurons for injury repair in the central nervous system. The feasibility of in vivo neuronal reprogramming has been demonstrated successfully in models of different neurological disorders including spinal cord injury by numerous laboratories. Several reprogramming factors, mainly the pro-neural transcription factors, have been utilized to reprogram endogenous glial cells into functional neurons with distinct phenotypes. So far, the literature on in vivo neuronal reprogramming in the model of spinal cord injury is still small. In this review, we summarize a limited number of such reports and discuss several questions that we think are important for applying in vivo neuronal reprogramming in the research field of spinal cord injury as well as other central nervous system disorders.

Key words: astrocyte, microRNA, NeuroD1, neuronal relay, neuronal reprogramming, NG2 glia, pericyte, reactive gliosis, Sox2, spinal cord injury