Using advances in genetics, scientists returned mobility to mice with spinal cord injury. As a result of the treatment, the nerve pathways in their spine recovered, and the paralysis of the limbs receded. Researchers hope that this technique will help paralyzed people in due time.
The achievement is described in scientific articlepublished in the journal Nature Communications by a group led by Dietmar Fischer (Dietmar Fischer) from the Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany.
The most important function of the spinal cord is to connect the brain to the trunk and limbs. For example, brain commands are transmitted from top to bottom, and tactile and other sensations from bottom to top. Long processes of nerve cells – axons are used as a communication line.
The axons of the spinal cord can be severed by trauma, such as a fracture of the spine. They are not able to recover on their own, so paralysis and numbness below the fracture point remain with the person for life. However, biologists have now found a way to get the body to repair damaged axons.
Researchers inserted into the neurons of the brain of mice a gene for the synthesis of a special protein that stimulates the growth of axons – hyperinterleukin-6 (hIL-6).
“This is a so-called designer cytokine. This means that it does not occur in nature as such and must be obtained through genetic engineering,” – explains Fisher.
Experimenters have created a virus that invades a cell and inserts the desired gene into its genome (this is a common method in gene therapy).
It would be difficult to deliver this virus exactly to those neurons of the brain, the processes of which go to the spine. Those are too deep in the brain stem. Therefore, biologists have introduced their “agent” into the neurons of the cortex that control movement. Their processes connect to the desired neurons in the brain stem. Under the influence of the virus, the nerve cells of the cortex produced hIL-6, and the latter, along the processes, entered the neurons of the brain stem, the axons of which were damaged during a spinal fracture. The protein stimulated the repair of affected axons.
“This ultimately allowed previously paralyzed animals receiving this treatment to walk in two to three weeks. [после начала терапии]… At first it came as a big surprise to us, since it has never been proven that this is possible after complete paraplegia, “says Fischer.
Let us explain that paraplegia is paralysis of a pair of limbs (front or back). In this case, the hind limbs were paralyzed in the mice.
In the course of this experiment, the animals were started to heal immediately after injury. In the future, the researchers intend to test whether such treatment helps if several weeks have passed since the injury.
Previously News.Ru also talked about rats saved from paralysis of the forelimbs by gene therapy… We also wrote about people who started walking again after spinal cord stimulation and transplant cells from the nose.
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