Combination of biomaterial transplantation and genetic enhancement of intrinsic growth capacities to promote CNS axon regeneration after spinal cord injury

Abstract

The inhibitory environment that surrounds the lesion site and the lack of intrinsic regenerative capacity of the adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS) impede the regrowth of injured axons and thereby the reestablishment of neural circuits required for functional recovery after spinal cord injuries (SCI). To circumvent these barriers, biomaterial scaffolds are applied to bridge the lesion gaps for the regrowing axons to follow, and, often by combining stem cell transplantation, to enable the local environment in the growth-supportive direction. Manipulations, such as the modulation of PTEN/mTOR pathways, can also enhance intrinsic CNS axon regrowth after injury. Given the complex pathophysiology of SCI, combining biomaterial scaffolds and genetic manipulation may provide synergistic effects and promote maximal axonal regrowth. Future directions will primarily focus on the translatability of these approaches and promote therapeutic avenues toward the functional rehabilitation of patients with SCIs.

Keywords

spinal cord injury / biomaterial / extrinsic barrier / intrinsic regeneration capacity

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Major Project of Research and Development (No. 2017YFA0104701), the National Key Basic Research Program of China (No. 2014CB542202), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31730031), and Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).

Compliance with ethics guidelines

Bin Yu and Xiaosong Gu declare that they have no conflict of interest or financial conflicts to disclose. This manuscript is a review article and does not involve a research protocol requiring approval by a relevant institutional review board or ethics committee.

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