Proinflammatory and Immunomodulatory Gene and Protein Expression Patterns in Spinal Cord and Spleen Following Acute and Chronic High Thoracic Injury

This study examines how spinal cord injury (SCI) at the upper thoracic level affects the immune system, specifically looking at the expression of certain proteins (TNFα and IFNγ) in the spinal cord and spleen of rats. Researchers found that spleen size decreases after SCI and that the levels of TNFα protein increase in the thoracic spinal cord shortly after the injury. These changes could provide insights into the development of autonomic dysreflexia and immune dysfunction following SCI. The findings suggest that targeting TNFα in the acute phase of SCI could potentially mitigate some of the negative consequences, such as autonomic dysreflexia and immune suppression.

• 1
  Spleen weight decreases acutely at 3 days post-injury (DPI) and again after 8 weeks compared to naïve age-matched controls, indicating a biphasic atrophy pattern.
• 2
  TNFα protein levels increase significantly in the thoracic spinal cord segments from 3 to 14 days post-injury, but not in the lumbosacral segments or spleen.
• 3
  IFNγ mRNA levels decrease significantly in the spleen at 3 days post-injury, while IFNγ protein levels show increasing trends chronically in both the spleen and lumbosacral spinal cord, though not statistically significant.