Gene Expression Profiling in the Injured Spinal Cord of Trachemys scripta elegans: An Amniote with Self-Repair Capabilities.

ABSTRACT: Slider turtles are the only known amniotes with self-repair mechanisms of the spinal cord that lead to substantial functional recovery. Their strategic phylogenetic position makes them a relevant model to investigate the peculiar genetic programs that allow anatomical reconnection in some vertebrate groups but are absent in others. Here, we analyze the gene expression profile of the response to spinal cord injury (SCI) in the turtle Trachemys scripta elegans. We found that this response comprises more than 1000 genes affecting diverse functions: reaction to ischemic insult, extracellular matrix re-organization, cell proliferation and death, immune response, and inflammation. Genes related to synapses and cholesterol biosynthesis are down-regulated. The analysis of the evolutionary d

SUBMITTER: Valentin-Kahan A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5293771 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature