Gene therapy approaches to enhancing plasticity and regeneration after spinal cord injury

During the past decades, new insights into mechanisms that limit plasticity and functional recovery after spinal cord injury have spurred the development of novel approaches to enhance axonal regeneration and rearrangement of spared circuitry. Gene therapy may provide one means to address mechanisms...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inExperimental neurology Vol. 235; no. 1; pp. 62 - 69
Main Authors Franz, Steffen, Weidner, Norbert, Blesch, Armin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Elsevier Inc 01.05.2012
Subjects
Animals
Axon guidance
Axon sprouting
Axonogenesis
Axons - physiology
Gene therapy
Genetic Therapy - methods
Growth factors
Nerve Regeneration - genetics
Neural networks
Neuronal Plasticity - genetics
Neurons
Plasticity (axonal)
Plasticity (functional)
Plasticity (spinal)
Recovery of function
Recovery of Function - genetics
Regeneration
Retrograde transport
Spinal Cord Injuries - genetics
Spinal Cord Injuries - therapy
Spinal cord injury
Transplantation
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Summary:During the past decades, new insights into mechanisms that limit plasticity and functional recovery after spinal cord injury have spurred the development of novel approaches to enhance axonal regeneration and rearrangement of spared circuitry. Gene therapy may provide one means to address mechanisms that underlie the insufficient regenerative response of injured neurons and can also be used to identify factors important for axonal growth. Several genetic approaches aimed to modulate the environment of injured axons, for example by localized expression of growth factors, to enhance axonal sprouting and regeneration and to guide regenerating axons towards their target have been described. In addition, genetic modification of injured neurons via intraparenchymal injection, or via retrograde transport of viral vectors has been used to manipulate the intrinsic growth capacity of injured neurons. In this review we will summarize some of the progress and limitations of cell transplantation and gene therapy to enhance axonal bridging and regeneration across a lesion site, and to maximize the function, collateral sprouting and connectivity of spared axonal systems.
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ISSN:0014-4886
1090-2430
DOI:10.1016/j.expneurol.2011.01.015