Loss of respiratory function is one of the leading causes of death following spinal cord injury. Because of this, much work has been done in studying ways to restore respiratory function following spinal cord injury (SCI) - including pharmacological and regeneration strategies. With the emergence of new and powerful tools from molecular neuroscience, new therapeutically relevant alternatives to...

To investigate the role of the myelin-associated protein Nogo-A on axon sprouting and regeneration in the adult central nervous system (CNS), we generated Nogo-A-deficient mice. Nogo-A knockout (KO) mice were viable, fertile, and not obviously afflicted by major developmental or neurological disturbances. The shorter splice form Nogo-B was strongly upregulated in the CNS. The inhibitory effect ...

To test the idea that genetically engineered cells can rescue axotomized neurons, we transplanted fibroblasts and immortalized neural stem cells (NSCs) modified to express neurotrophic factors into the injured spinal cord. The neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) or nerve growth factor (NGF) transgene was introduced into these cells using recombinant retroviral vectors containing an internal ribosome entry si...

We subjected rats to either partial midcervical or complete upper thoracic spinal cord transections and examined whether combinatorial treatments support motor axonal regeneration into and beyond the lesion. Subjects received cAMP injections into brainstem reticular motor neurons to stimulate their endogenous growth state, bone marrow stromal cell grafts in lesion sites to provide permissive ma...

Spinal cord injury (SCI), usually resulting in severe sensory and motor deficits, is a major public health concern. Adipose‑derived stem cells (ADSCs), one type of adult stem cell, are free from ethical restriction, easily isolated and enriched. Therefore, ADSCs may provide a feasible cell source for cell‑based therapies in treatment of SCI. The present study successfully isolated rat ADSCs (rA...

Adult MRL/MpJ mice have been shown to possess unique regeneration capabilities. They are able to heal an ear-punched hole or an injured heart with normal tissue architecture and without scar formation. Here we present functional and histological evidence for enhanced recovery following spinal cord injury (SCI) in MRL/MpJ mice. A control group (C57BL/6 mice) and MRL/MpJ mice underwent a dorsal h...

Cellular transplantation strategies utilizing intraspinal injection of mesenchymal progenitor cells (MPCs) have been reported as beneficial for spinal cord injuries. However, intraspinal injection is not only technically challenging, but requires invasive surgical procedures for patients. Therefore, we investigated the feasibility and potential benefits of noninvasive intravenous injection of M...

The normal development of the somatosensory system requires intact sensory inputs from the periphery during a critical window of time early in development. Here we determined how the removal of only part of the ascending spinal inputs early in development affects the anatomical and neurophysiological development of the somatosensory system. We performed spinal overhemisections in rat pups at C3...

Stem cell therapy is a potential treatment for spinal cord injury and different stem cell types have been grafted into animal models and humans suffering from spinal trauma. Due to inconsistent results, it is still an important and clinically relevant question which stem cell type will prove to be therapeutically effective. Thus far, stem cells of human sources grafted into spinal cord mostly i...

We assessed whether a clinical dose of the anti-inflammatory drug methylprednisolone (MP) given to adult mice acutely after spinal cord injury (SCI) influences spinal cord or hippocampal progenitor cells. Mice underwent a thoracic dorsal hemisection of the spinal cord and received 30 mg/kg MP immediately and 24 h post-lesion. 5-Bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) was administered after lesion either ac...