Neural Regeneration Research, 2012 · DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2012.26.001 · Published: September 1, 2012
This study investigates the roles of p75 and phosphorylated c-Jun (p-c-Jun) in spinal motoneurons after axonal injury (axotomy) in rats of different ages: postnatal days 1, 7, 14, and adults. The researchers compared the presence of these proteins to understand their involvement in motoneuron response to injury. The study found that p-c-Jun was highly present in injured motoneurons of very young rats (PN1 and PN7), but this presence decreased sharply in PN14 rats. Interestingly, the reduced p-c-Jun expression coincided with the re-expression of p75 in the injured cells. In adult rats, the researchers observed intensive p75 but no p-c-Jun in the injured motoneurons. This suggests that p75 and p-c-Jun might have different roles or are regulated differently in immature versus mature spinal motoneurons when responding to axonal injury.
The study provides insights into the age-dependent responses of spinal motoneurons to axonal injury, highlighting the differential roles of p75 and p-c-Jun.
The findings suggest that p75 may not be involved in motoneuron death following axonal injury, contrary to some previous studies, which could lead to a re-evaluation of therapeutic strategies targeting p75.
The results emphasize the importance of considering the developmental stage when studying neuronal responses to injury and designing interventions.