Age-Dependent Transcriptome and Proteome Following Transection of Neonatal Spinal Cord of Monodelphis domestica (South American Grey Short-Tailed Opossum)

PLoS ONE, 2014 · DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099080 · Published: June 10, 2014

Simple Explanation

This research looks at how the spinal cord of young opossums responds to injury at two different ages. The study examines gene and protein expression after spinal cord transection in young opossums. Younger opossums (P7) can regrow nerve fibers after spinal cord injury, while older ones (P28) cannot. The study compares gene and protein activity at these ages. The findings give clues about why young animals can recover from spinal cord injuries better than older ones. The study provides a resource for future research.

Study Duration

24 hours post injury

Participants

Monodelphis domestica (South American Grey Short-Tailed Opossum) pups at postnatal day 7 (P7) and postnatal day 28 (P28)

Evidence Level

Not specified

Key Findings

1
Following injury at P7 only forty genes changed (all increased expression); most were immune/inflammatory genes.
2
Following injury at P28 many more genes changed their expression and the magnitude of change for some genes was strikingly greater.
3
For example myelin basic protein expression was reduced following injury at P28 both at the gene and protein levels.

Research Summary

This study analyzes the transcriptome and proteome of Monodelphis domestica after spinal cord injury at two postnatal ages, P7 and P28. At P7, only 40 genes changed expression, mostly related to immune/inflammatory responses. At P28, more genes changed, with greater magnitude, also mainly in immune/inflammation. Genes inhibitory to regeneration in adults were muted or opposite in expression changes at P28. Data provides resource for future study.

Practical Implications

Understanding Regeneration

The study provides insights into the molecular mechanisms that enable spinal cord regeneration in young animals but not in older ones.

Identifying Therapeutic Targets

The differentially expressed genes and proteins could be potential targets for therapeutic interventions aimed at promoting spinal cord repair in humans.

Comparative Biology

The research highlights the importance of studying developmental changes in response to injury to better understand regenerative processes.

Study Limitations

1
The study was restricted to changes identified 24 h after injury at P7 or P28 in the cord segment rostral to the transection.
2
Technical and biological variability reduced number of genes observed to be statistically significantly differentially expressed.
3
Limited functional annotation of the opossum genome limited pathway analysis.

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