After a spinal cord injury, nearby cells quickly rush to action, forming protective scar tissue around the damaged area to stabilize and protect it. But over time, too much scarring can prevent nerves from regenerating, impeding the healing process and leading to permanent nerve damage, loss of sensation or paralysis. Now, UC San Francisco researchers have discovered how a rarely studied cell type controls the formation of scar tissue in spinal cord injuries.
Activating a molecular pathway within these cells, the team showed in mice, lets them control levels of spinal cord scarring. The new research appears Sept. 18 in Nature .
By illuminating the basic signaling biology behind spinal cord scarring, these findings raise the possibility of one day being able to pharmacologically fine-tune the extent of that scarring." David Julius, PhD, senior author of the new paper, professor and chair of physiology at UCSF, and winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Spinal cord injuries -; caused by physical trauma such as vehicle accidents, falls, or sports collisions -; can damage the nerves that run down the length of the spinal cord and coordinate messages between the brain and the rest of the body. Treatments largely revolve around surgery or braces to stabilize the spine, drugs to control pain and swelling and physical therapy.
Julius and his colleagues were studying the function of a poorly understood group of neurons, called cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-contacting neu.