Sonic hedgehog and neurotrophin-3 increase oligodendrocyte numbers and myelination after spinal cord injury.

ABSTRACT: Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in loss of sensory and motor function below the level of injury and has limited available therapies. Multiple channel bridges have been investigated as a means to create a permissive environment for regeneration, with channels supporting axonal growth through the injury. Bridges support robust axon growth and myelination. Here, we investigated the cell types that myelinate axons in the bridges and whether over-expression of trophic factors can enhance myelination. Lentivirus encoding for neurotrophin-3 (NT3), sonic hedgehog (SHH) and the combination of these factors was delivered from bridges implanted into a lateral hemisection defect at T9/T10 in mice, and the response of endogenous progenitor cells within the spinal cord was investigated. Relative to con

SUBMITTER: Thomas AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4086750 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature