Novel Combination Strategies to Repair the Injured Mammalian Spinal Cord

Spinal cord injuries initiate damaging processes, leading to secondary tissue loss, including the release of excitatory amino acids, excessive Ca2þ entry into cells and inflammation. Repairing the spinal cord involves halting secondary tissue damage, curbing inflammation, reducing scar formation, neutralizing inhibitory factors, awakening nerve cells to regrow fibers and enabling the formation of connections. Combination strategies, such as combining Schwann cells (SCs), olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs), and chondroitinase, have proven effective in improving outcomes after spinal cord injury.

• 1
  Combining SCs, OECs, and chondroitinase administration improved locomotion in rats with complete spinal cord transection, leading to increased myelinated axons and serotonergic axons.
• 2
  For subacute spinal cord contusion injuries, SCs combined with elevation of cyclic AMP (cAMP) resulted in significant increases in white matter sparing and myelinated axons.
• 3
  Introducing constitutively activated MEK and ERK genes into the reticular formation stimulated the growth factor MAP kinase pathway, promoting regeneration after complete spinal cord transection.