Inhibition of TERC inhibits neural apoptosis and inflammation in spinal cord injury through Akt activation and p-38 inhibition via the miR-34a-5p/XBP-1 axis

This study investigates the role of TERC, a type of non-coding RNA, in spinal cord injury (SCI). The researchers aimed to understand how TERC affects the biological behavior of nerve cells and inflammatory responses after SCI. The study found that TERC is upregulated (increased) in SCI tissues and in nerve cells treated with LPS (a substance that mimics injury). Knocking down TERC (reducing its levels) alleviated histopathological abnormalities in SCI tissues, suggesting a protective effect. The research also explored the involvement of miR-34a-5p, another type of RNA, in TERC-mediated SCI progression. Results indicated that TERC targets miR-34a-5p, and the miR-34a-5p/XBP-1 axis plays a role in the observed effects on nerve cell regeneration and inflammation.

• 1
  TERC knockdown alleviated histopathological abnormalities in SCI tissues and promoted cell viability, migration, and invasion while inhibiting apoptosis in LPS-induced PC-12 cells.
• 2
  TERC knockdown downregulated XBP-1, IL-6, TNF-α, Bax, p-p38/t-p38, and cleaved caspase-9/-3, but upregulated Bcl-2 and p-Akt/t-Akt, suggesting a role in reducing inflammation and promoting cell survival pathways.
• 3
  miR-34a-5p downregulation exerted effects opposite to TERC knockdown and offset TERC knockdown-induced effects on cell viability, migration, and invasion, indicating miR-34a-5p's involvement in TERC-mediated SCI progression.