Systemic Administration of Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 Improves the Recovery of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) in Rats and Attenuates SCI-Induced Autophagy

Spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to nerve cell death, hindering recovery. Nerve growth factors can help reduce this death and improve healing. This study explores the potential of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) in promoting SCI repair in rats. The study found that FGF21, when administered systemically, significantly improved the functional recovery of SCI in rats. This improvement was observed through various assessments, including the BBB scale and inclined plane test. The mechanism behind this improvement involves FGF21's ability to restrain injury-induced cell autophagy. This suggests that systemic administration of FGF21 holds therapeutic potential for SCI repair.

• 1
  Systemic administration of FGF21 significantly promoted the functional recovery of SCI in rats, as assessed by BBB scale and inclined plane test.
• 2
  FGF21 attenuated cell death in the injured area, accompanied by increased expression of NeuN, GAP43 and NF200, and decreased expression of GFAP.
• 3
  FGF21 was found to attenuate the elevated expression level of the autophagy marker LC3-II induced by SCI in a dose-dependent manner.