title: Spinal cord regeneration: lessons for mammals from non-mammalian vertebrates.
abstract: Unlike mammals, regenerative model organisms such as amphibians and fish are capable of spinal cord regeneration after injury. Certain key differences between regenerative and nonregenerative organisms have been suggested as involved in promoting this process, such as the capacity for neurogenesis and axonal regeneration, which appear to be facilitated by favorable astroglial, inflammatory and immune responses. These traits provide a regenerative-permissive environment that the mammalian spinal cord appears to be lacking. Evidence for the regenerative nonpermissive environment in mammals is given by the fact that they possess neural stem/progenitor cells, which transplanted into permissive environments are able to give rise to new neurons, whereas in the nonpermissive spinal cord they are unable to do so. We discuss the traits that are favorable for regeneration, comparing what happens in mammals with each regenerative organism, aiming to describe and identify the key differences that allow regeneration. This comparison should lead us toward finding how to promote regeneration in organisms that are unable to do so.
authors.affiliation: Center for Aging and Regeneration, Millennium Nucleus in Regenerative Biology, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Alameda 340 Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Dasfne
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lee-Liu
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Edwards-Faret
authors.forename: Víctor S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Tapia
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Larraín
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008322:Mammals; D009416:Nerve Regeneration; D055495:Neurogenesis; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000502:physiology*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology
keywords: axonal regeneration; glial scar; immune response; inflammation; neurogenesis; spinal cord injury