中国神经再生研究(英文版) ›› 2026, Vol. 21 ›› Issue (2): 780-789.doi: 10.4103/NRR.NRR-D-24-01163

• 原著:脊髓损伤修复保护与再生 • 上一篇    下一篇

斑马鱼脊髓损伤再生单细胞图谱

  

  • 出版日期:2026-02-15 发布日期:2025-05-24

A single-cell landscape of the regenerating spinal cord of zebrafish

Lei Yao1, #, Xinyi Cai2, #, Saishuai Yang1 , Yixing Song2 , Lingyan Xing2, *, Guicai Li2, *, Zhiming Cui3, 4, *, Jiajia Chen3, 4, *   

  1. 1 Department of Anesthesiology, Affiliated Hospital 2 of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China;  2 Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration of Jiangsu and Ministry of Education, Co-Innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Tissue Engineering Technology Products, Jiangsu Clinical Medicine Center of Tissue Engineering and Nerve Injury Repair, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China;  3 Department of Spine Surgery, Affiliated Hospital 2 of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China;  4 Research Institute for Spine and Spinal Cord Disease of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China
  • Online:2026-02-15 Published:2025-05-24
  • Contact: Lingyan Xing, PhD, xlyan011@163.com; Jiajia Chen, MD, ntspine@ntu.edu.cn; Guicai Li, gcli1981@ntu.edu.cn; Zhiming Cui, MD, czmspine@ntu.edu.cn.
  • Supported by:
    This study was supported by the Jiangsu Province Traditional Chinese Medicine Technology Development Plan Project, Nos. MS2023113 (to JC), MS2022090; and Young and Middle-aged Academic Leaders of Jiangsu Qing-Lan Project (to GL).

摘要:

与哺乳动物不同,斑马鱼在脊髓损伤后展示出强大的再生能力,这使其成为研究神经再生的理想脊椎动物模型。虽然既往研究已确定参与这一过程的关键细胞类型,但其潜在的分子和细胞机制仍未可知。此次实验使用单细胞RNA测序来分析斑马鱼脊髓损伤后不同阶段的不同细胞群,揭示了多个神经元亚群在损伤后,与轴突发生相关的基因持续激活,而导致生长锥塌陷的分子信号则被抑制;放射状胶质细胞在损伤后表现出显著的增殖及分化潜力,表明两者分别在促进神经发生和轴突再生方面的重要作用。研究还发现,斑马鱼脊髓损伤后早期,炎症因子即迅速降低,这为组织修复与再生创造相对有利的宽松微环境。此外,部分成熟少突胶质细胞在损伤后暂时失去成熟标记并进入增殖阶段。上述结果显示了斑马鱼脊髓损伤后快速且有序的炎症调控以及新生神经元与胶质细胞的高效增殖和再分化,使得斑马鱼实现了脊髓重建。这为推动脊髓再生的细胞转变和分子程序提供了新的见解,为未来的研究和潜在的治疗策略提供了有前景的方向。

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7646-2522 (Lingyan Xing); https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6032-3640 (Jiajia Chen);

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0078-2394 (Guicai Li); https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0359-3786 (Zhiming Cui)

关键词: 少突胶质细胞, 巨噬细胞, 小胶质细胞, 神经元, 增殖少突胶质细胞, 放射状胶质细胞, 单细胞测序, 脊髓再生, 转录组, 斑马鱼

Abstract: Unlike mammals, zebrafish possess a remarkable ability to regenerate their spinal cord after injury, making them an ideal vertebrate model for studying regeneration. While previous research has identified key cell types involved in this process, the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms remain largely unexplored. In this study, we used single-cell RNA sequencing to profile distinct cell populations at different stages of spinal cord injury in zebrafish. Our analysis revealed that multiple subpopulations of neurons showed persistent activation of genes associated with axonal regeneration post injury, while molecular signals promoting growth cone collapse were inhibited. Radial glial cells exhibited significant proliferation and differentiation potential post injury, indicating their intrinsic roles in promoting neurogenesis and axonal regeneration, respectively. Additionally, we found that inflammatory factors rapidly decreased in the early stages following spinal cord injury, creating a microenvironment permissive for tissue repair and regeneration. Furthermore, oligodendrocytes lost maturity markers while exhibiting increased proliferation following injury. These findings demonstrated that the rapid and orderly regulation of inflammation, as well as the efficient proliferation and redifferentiation of new neurons and glial cells, enabled zebrafish to reconstruct the spinal cord. This research provides new insights into the cellular transitions and molecular programs that drive spinal cord regeneration, offering promising avenues for future research and therapeutic strategies.

Key words: dividing oligodendrocyte, macrophage, microglia, neuron, proliferating oligodendrocyte, radial glia, single cell sequencing, spinal cord regeneration, transcriptome, zebrafish