Spinal cord injuries do not no effective treatmentz; physical rehabilitation can help patients regain some mobility, but in severe cases the results are extremely limited by the inability of the spinal neuronss de regenerate naturally after injury.
However, in a “PLOS Biology” study, researchers led by Simone Di Giovanni, from Imperial College London (United Kingdom), show that weekly treatments with an epigenetic activator can help the regeneration of sensory and motor neurons in the spinal cord when administered to mice 12 weeks after a serious injury.
As they explain in their work, a molecule called TTK21 activates genetic programming and induces the regeneration of axons in neurons
TTK21 changes the epigenetic state of genes by activating a family of coactivator proteins.
The researchers tested TTK21 treatment in a mouse model of severe spinal cord injury. The animals lived in an enriched environment that gave them the opportunity to be physically active, as is encouraged in human patients.
The most notable effect was increased sprouting of axons in the spinal cord.
Treatment began 12 weeks after the severe spinal cord injury and lasted 10 weeks. The researchers found several improvements after treatment with TTK21 compared to control treatment. The most notable effect was increased sprouting of axons in the spinal cord. They also discovered that the retraction of motor axons above the point of injury stopped, and that the growth of sensory axons increased.
These changes were probably due to the observed increase in the expression of genes related to regeneration. The next step will be to further enhance these effects and cause the regenerating axons reconnect with the rest of the nervous system so that the animals easily regain their ability to move.
Di Giovanni believes that “this work demonstrates that a drug that is administered systemically once a week after a chronic spinal cord injury (SML) in animals can promote neuronal regrowth and an increase in the synapses necessary for neuronal transmission. This is important because chronic spinal cord injury has no cure in which neuronal growth and repair fail. We are now exploring combining this drug with strategies that bridge the spinal cord, such as biomaterialsas possible ways to improve the disability of patients with this injury».