NPC transplantation rescues sci-driven cAMP/EPAC2 alterations, leading to neuroprotection and microglial modulation.

ABSTRACT: Neural progenitor cell (NPC) transplantation represents a promising treatment strategy for spinal cord injury (SCI); however, the underlying therapeutic mechanisms remain incompletely understood. We demonstrate that severe spinal contusion in adult rats causes transcriptional dysregulation, which persists from early subacute to chronic stages of SCI and affects nearly 20,000 genes in total tissue extracts. Functional analysis of this dysregulated transcriptome reveals the significant downregulation of cAMP signalling components immediately after SCI, involving genes such as EPAC2 (exchange protein directly activated by cAMP), PKA, BDNF, and CAMKK2. The ectopic transplantation of spinal cord-derived NPCs at acute or subacute stages of SCI induces a significant transcriptional impact in spin

SUBMITTER: Martinez-Rojas B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9338125 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature