Browse the latest research summaries in the field of genetics for spinal cord injury patients and caregivers.
Showing 51-60 of 1,773 results
Drug Discov Today, 2012 • September 1, 2012
This review discusses advances in non-viral gene delivery for spinal cord injury (SCI) treatment. Non-viral vectors offer a safer alternative to viral vectors, with higher DNA-carrying capacity and th...
KEY FINDING: Non-viral gene vectors can transfect endogenous cells in the injured spinal cord, leading to the production of therapeutic molecules and long-lasting biological effects.
The Journal of Neuroscience, 2012 • May 30, 2012
This study investigates the role of Fgf signaling in spinal cord regeneration in zebrafish, focusing on glial cell behavior. Unlike mammals, zebrafish glia form a bridge across the injury site, which ...
KEY FINDING: Following spinal cord injury in zebrafish, glial cells proliferate, migrate, and differentiate to form a glial cell bridge, which is crucial for axonal regeneration.
Frontiers in Endocrinology, 2012 • February 7, 2012
This study establishes that DHEA is biosynthesized in the developing ventral neural tube at the time of neurogenesis and cell fate determination. In in vitro models, DHEA modulated the induction of ex...
KEY FINDING: DHEA induces the expression of class II protein Nkx6.1, motor neuron precursor Olig-2, and definitive motor neuron marker Isl-1/2 in vitro.
BMC Neuroscience, 2012 • June 6, 2012
The study aimed to assess the impact of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene therapy on musculocutaneous nerve (MCN) reinnervation following end-to-end (ETE) or end-to-side (ETS) neurorrhaph...
KEY FINDING: Plasmid phVEGF transfection increased VEGF protein levels in Schwann cells of the MCN stumps.
Neural Development, 2012 • June 8, 2012
This study investigates the role of sulfation in spinal cord neural precursor cell (NPC) biology using sodium chlorate (NaClO3), a sulfation inhibitor. NaClO3 treatment affected cell cycle progression...
KEY FINDING: Addition of sodium chlorate to spinal cord neural precursor cell cultures affected cell cycle progression accompanied by changed extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 or 2 activation levels.
PLoS ONE, 2012 • May 31, 2012
The study examines cellular mechanisms underlying repetitive regeneration of myogenic tissues in the electric fish S. macrurus. In vivo microinjection studies revealed no fragmentation or cellularizat...
KEY FINDING: Pax7-positive muscle stem cells are found in both muscle fibers and electrocytes, the non-contractile cells of the electric organ.
PLoS ONE, 2012 • June 6, 2012
The study aimed to identify PNS genes that could enhance the regenerative ability of CNS neurons by promoting neurite growth on inhibitory substrates. A high-content screen of over 1100 PNS genes in c...
KEY FINDING: Several known growth associated proteins potentiated neurite growth on laminin.
Exp Neurol, 2012 • September 1, 2012
This study investigates the use of a herpes simplex virus (HSV) vector to deliver the C3 transferase (C3t) gene into dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons to promote axonal regeneration after cervical ro...
KEY FINDING: HSV vector vC3t produces C3 transferase (C3t) in vitro and in vivo, inhibiting Rho GTPase activity in DRG neurons.
Molecular Neurodegeneration, 2012 • July 13, 2012
This study investigates the role of bone marrow-derived cells (BMMCs) and fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) in promoting glial cell proliferation during peripheral nerve regeneration after sciatic ne...
KEY FINDING: Bone marrow-derived cell treatment induces an increase in the expression of FGF-2 in the sciatic nerve, dorsal root ganglia and the dorsolateral (DL) region of the lumbar spinal cord (LSC) in a model of sciatic nerve transection.
Ann Neurol, 2012 • August 1, 2012
This study investigates the role of NFIA in oligodendrocyte development and remyelination, finding it expressed in OLPs but not mature OLs. Functional studies show NFIA suppresses OLP differentiation ...
KEY FINDING: NFIA is expressed in oligodendrocyte progenitors (OLPs) but not in differentiated oligodendrocytes during mouse embryonic development, and this pattern is conserved in human neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions.