The bright side of the glial scar in CNS repair.
Following CNS injury, in an apparently counterintuitive response, scar tissue formation inhibits axonal growth, imposing a major barrier to regeneration. Accordingly, scar-modulating treatments have become a leading therapeutic goal in the field of spinal cord injury. However, increasing evidence suggests a beneficial role for this scar tissue as part of the endogenous local immune regulation and repair process. How can these opposing effects be reconciled? Perhaps it is all a matter of timing.
Rolls
Asya
A
Asya Rolls, Ravid Shechter and Michal Schwartz are at the Department of Neurobiology, The Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot, Israel.
Shechter
Ravid
R
Schwartz
Michal
M
D000818:Animals; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D005911:Gliosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D020439:Growth Cones / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006801:Humans; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000502:physiology; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy
D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins