Activation of Intrinsic Growth State Enhances Host Axonal Regeneration into Neural Progenitor Cell Grafts

This study investigates how to improve nerve regeneration after spinal cord injury (SCI) by using neural progenitor cell (NPC) grafts. The researchers explored whether activating the injured neuron's own growth mechanisms, combined with NPC grafts, could enhance nerve regeneration into the graft. They found that stimulating the neuron's growth state significantly increased nerve regeneration into the NPC grafts, and this effect was further enhanced by including specific target neurons within the graft environment.

• 1
  Sensory conditioning lesions can activate the intrinsic host neuronal growth state and enhance host axonal regeneration into NPC grafts, resulting in a 9.6-fold increase in sensory axon regeneration into the NPC graft.
• 2
  Enrichment of the graft with target neurons of regenerating sensory axons further enhances regeneration.
• 3
  The combination of conditioning lesions plus enrichment of neural progenitor grafts with appropriate neuronal targets resulted in maximal and extensive sensory axonal regeneration into grafts.