Co-targeting B-RAF and PTEN Enables Sensory Axons to Regenerate Across and Beyond the Spinal Cord Injury

Adult mammals' primary sensory axons typically fail to regenerate after spinal cord injury (SCI) due to limited intrinsic growth potential. This study explores whether targeting B-RAF and PTEN can enhance axon regeneration. The researchers genetically targeted B-RAF and PTEN in DRG neurons of adult mice, observing that many dorsal column axons entered, crossed, and grew beyond the spinal cord lesion site. The study also found that post-injury targeting of B-RAF and PTEN enhances DC axon regeneration, suggesting a potential novel strategy for promoting long-distance regeneration of primary sensory axons.

• 1
  Genetically targeting B-RAF and PTEN in DRG neurons of adult mice enables many DC axons to enter, cross, and grow beyond the lesion site after SCI, with some axons reaching approximately 2 mm rostral to the lesion by 3 weeks post-injury.
• 2
  Co-targeting B-RAF and PTEN promotes more robust DC regeneration than a pre-conditioning lesion, which additively enhances the regeneration triggered by B-RAF/PTEN.
• 3
  Post-injury targeting of B-RAF and PTEN enhances DC axon regeneration, demonstrating that this co-targeting effectively enhances the intrinsic growth potential of DC axons after SCI.