1 Department of Pathology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
2 Department of Radiology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
Neuroscientist. 2018 Oct;24(5):440-447. doi: 10.1177/1073858417731522. Epub 2017 Sep 21.
Traumatic spinal cord injury is a devastating condition that leads to significant neurological deficits and reduced quality of life. Therapeutic interventions after spinal cord lesions are designed to address multiple aspects of the secondary damage. However, the lack of detailed knowledge about the cellular and molecular changes that occur after spinal cord injury restricts the design of effective treatments. Li and colleagues using a rat model of spinal cord injury and in vivo microscopy reveal that pericytes play a key role in the regulation of capillary tone and blood flow in the spinal cord below the site of the lesion. Strikingly, inhibition of specific proteins expressed by pericytes after spinal cord injury diminished hypoxia and improved motor function and locomotion of the injured rats. This work highlights a novel central cellular population that might be pharmacologically targeted in patients with spinal cord trauma. The emerging knowledge from this research may provide new approaches for the treatment of spinal cord injury.
外伤性脊髓损伤是一种毁灭性的疾病，会导致严重的神经功能缺损和生活质量下降。脊髓损伤后的治疗干预旨在解决继发性损伤的多个方面。然而，由于对脊髓损伤后发生的细胞和分子变化缺乏详细了解，限制了有效治疗方法的设计。Li 及其同事使用大鼠脊髓损伤模型和体内显微镜观察到，周细胞在调节损伤部位以下脊髓内毛细血管张力和血流方面发挥着关键作用。引人注目的是，脊髓损伤后抑制周细胞表达的特定蛋白可减轻缺氧，并改善损伤大鼠的运动功能和运动能力。这项工作强调了一种新的中枢细胞群体，可能成为脊髓创伤患者的药物治疗靶点。这项研究的新发现可能为脊髓损伤的治疗提供新的方法。
