Chondroitinase ABC-Mediated Plasticity of Spinal Sensory Function

This study investigates how the spinal cord can reorganize itself after an injury to improve sensory function. Researchers focused on chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs), molecules that can inhibit nerve fiber growth in the spinal cord. The study used an enzyme, chondroitinase ABC (ChABC), to break down CSPGs in rats with a specific type of spinal cord injury. The goal was to see if reducing CSPGs would allow the spinal cord to rewire itself and restore sensory abilities. The results showed that ChABC treatment did indeed help the rats regain sensory function, suggesting that removing CSPGs can promote beneficial reorganization of the spinal cord after injury.

• 1
  ChABC normalizes deafferentation-induced compromise of sensory function. Spared-root-lesioned animals treated with ChABC did not show a deficit in their ability to sense the presence of the tape or the ability to remove the tape on any of the postinjury testing days.
• 2
  Chondroitinase ABC promotes anatomical reorganization of intact fibers. That is, ChABC treatment allows anatomical sprouting of CTB-labeled fibers under these conditions.
• 3
  Chondroitinase ABC restores postsynaptic activity after spared-root injury. Thus, the restitution of evoked activity in ChABC-treated animals indicates a strengthening of synaptic connectivity within the C7 spinal segment after denervating injury.