Combinatorial therapy with neurotrophins and cAMP promotes axonal regeneration beyond sites of spinal cord injury.
Previous attempts to promote regeneration after spinal cord injury have succeeded in stimulating axonal growth into or around lesion sites but rarely beyond them. We tested whether a combinatorial approach of stimulating the neuronal cell body with cAMP and the injured axon with neurotrophins would propel axonal growth into and beyond sites of spinal cord injury. A preconditioning stimulus to sensory neuronal cell bodies was delivered by injecting cAMP into the L4 dorsal root ganglion, and a postinjury stimulus to the injured axon was administered by injecting neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) within and beyond a cervical spinal cord lesion site grafted with autologous bone marrow stromal cells. One to 3 months later, long-projecting dorsal-column sensory axons regenerated into and beyond the lesion. Regeneration beyond the lesion did not occur after treatment with cAMP or NT-3 alone. Thus, clear axonal regeneration beyond spinal cord injury sites can be achieved by combinatorial approaches that stimulate both the neuronal soma and the axon, representing a major advance in strategies to enhance spinal cord repair.
Lu
Paul
P
Department of Neurosciences, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0626, USA.
Yang
Hong
H
Jones
Leonard L
LL
Filbin
Marie T
MT
Tuszynski
Mark H
MH
D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D003994:Bucladesine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal; D015552:Injections, Intralesional; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000187:drug effects*; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D020933:Neurotrophin 3 / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000637:transplantation; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous
D020933:Neurotrophin 3; D003994:Bucladesine