中国神经再生研究(英文版) ›› 2026, Vol. 21 ›› Issue (9): 4367-4377.doi: 10.4103/NRR.NRR-D-25-00544

• 原著:脊髓损伤修复保护与再生 • 上一篇    下一篇

 Rictor/mTORC2信号传导保护内源性神经干细胞促进脊髓损伤的恢复

  

  • 出版日期:2026-09-15 发布日期:2026-05-22

Rictor/mTORC2 signaling pathway protects endogenous neural stem cells to promote recovery after spinal cord injury

Kuileung Tong1, 2, #, Shiming Li3, #, Guoliang Chen4, #, Dacheng He1, Chengkai Lin1, *, Yuhang Li2, *, Ningning Chen1, *   

  1. 1Guangdong Provincial Biomedical Innovation Platform of Regeneration and Repair of Spinal Cord and Nerve Injury, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Bone Tissue Repair and Translational Research, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China; 
    2Department of Orthopedics, Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China; 
    3Department of Orthopedics Surgery, The Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China; 
    4Department of Orthopedic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
  • Online:2026-09-15 Published:2026-05-22
  • Contact: Ningning Chen, PhD, MD, chennn8@mail.sysu.edu.cn; Yuhang Li, PhD, MD, hqyylyh@126.com; Chengkai Lin, MD, linchk@mail2.sysu.edu.cn.
  • Supported by:
    This study was partly supported by grants from the Shenzhen Committee of Science and Technology, No. JCYJ20230807110310021 (to NC); Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Bone Tissue Repair and Translational Research, No. ZDSYS20230626091402006 (to NC); China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, Nos. GZC20242074, 2024M763788 (both to KT); National Natural Science Foundation of China for the Youth, No. 82402846 (to GC); and Science and Technology Projects in Guangzhou, Nos. 2025A03J4170, 2023B03J0211 (both to GC and YL).

摘要:

内源性神经干细胞是脊髓损伤非侵入性修复的潜在靶点,但炎症性病变环境常诱发其死亡。作者既往研究已发现坏死性凋亡是迁移至脊髓损伤灶的内源性神经干细胞的重要死亡途径。尽管已知mTORC2复合体的核心组分Rictor可调控神经干细胞自我更新与分化,且其可参与脊髓损伤的修复,但其在保护脊髓损伤后内源性神经干细胞存活中的作用尚不明确。此次实验利用Cre-loxP系统构建了条件性内源性神经干细胞特异性Rictor敲除小鼠。结果显示,尽管这种模型小鼠的脊髓形态与功能正常,但与野生型相比,其脊髓损伤后功能恢复能力显著受损。这种缺陷与炎症反应增强及内源性神经干细胞对坏死性凋亡的易感性增加相关。进一步机制研究发现,体外神经干细胞经慢病毒介导敲低Rictor后,细胞溶酶体功能受损,这导致细胞对肿瘤坏死因子α和脂多糖诱导的坏死性凋亡敏感性增强。这些发现证实Rictor/mTORC2信号通路能在脊髓损伤后保护内源性神经干细胞免受受体相互作用蛋白激酶1介导的坏死性凋亡。因此,调节内在Rictor活性为增强脊髓损伤后内源性神经干细胞存活率和功能恢复提供了潜在治疗策略。


https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4576-2311 (Ningning Chen); 

https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7078-5161 (Yuhang Li); 

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7940-4993 (Chengkai Lin)

关键词: 内源性神经干细胞l胶质瘢痕l炎症l细胞内钙离子l溶酶体lmTORC2l坏死性凋亡lRictorlRIPK1l脊髓损伤

Abstract: Although endogenous neural stem cells represent a promising target for noninvasive spinal cord injury repair, inflammatory lesion environments frequently trigger their death. Our prior work identified necroptosis as a key death pathway for endogenous neural stem cells migrating to spinal cord injury lesions. Rapamycin-insensitive companion of mTOR (Rictor; a core component of the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 2 [mTORC2] complex) regulates neural stem cell self-renewal and differentiation, and our preliminary data implicate it in spinal cord injury repair; however, its role in promoting endogenous neural stem cell survival post-spinal cord injury remains unclear. Here, we generated conditional endogenous neural stem cell-specific Rictor knockout mice using the Cre-loxP system. Although the endogenous neural stem cell-specific Rictor knockout mice displayed normal baseline spinal cord morphology and function, they exhibited impaired functional recovery after spinal cord injury compared with wild-type controls. This deficit correlated with elevated inflammatory responses and the increased susceptibility of endogenous neural stem cells to necroptosis. Mechanistically, lentiviral-mediated Rictor knockdown in neural stem cells in vitro impaired lysosomal function, leading to heightened sensitivity to tumor necrosis factor-alpha- and lipopolysaccharide-induced necroptosis. Collectively, these findings indicate that Rictor/mTORC2 signaling protects endogenous neural stem cells against receptor-interacting protein kinase 1-mediated necroptosis following spinal cord injury. Consequently, the modulation of intrinsic Rictor activity represents a potential therapeutic strategy to enhance endogenous neural stem cell survival and functional recovery post-spinal cord injury.

Key words: endogenous neural stem celll glial scarl inflammationl intracellular Ca2+l lysosomel mTORC2l necroptosisl Rictorl RIPK1l spinal cord injury