Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER FIVE
Inflammatory Pathways in Spinal
Cord Injury
Samuel David
1
, Juan Guillermo Zarruk, Nader Ghasemlou
2
Centre for Research in Neuroscience, The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre,
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
1
Corresponding author: e-mail address: sam.david@mcgill.ca
2
Current address: F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Children's Hospital Boston & Department of
Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Contents
1.
Introduction
128
2. The Inflammatory Response After SCI
129
2.1 Changes at the site of injury
129
2.2 Changes in areas undergoing Wallerian degeneration
131
3. Effects of Immune Cells on Secondary Damage
131
4.
Identification of Novel Targets that Mediate Inflammatory Responses After SCI
133
4.1 MAPK-activated protein kinase 2
134
4.2
KCNN4/KCa3.1
137
4.3 Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor
139
4.4 Phospholipase A
2
142
5. Conclusions
145
Acknowledgments
146
References
146
Abstract
Injury to the spinal cord results in direct damage to axons, neuronal cell bodies, and glia
that cause functional loss below the site of injury. In addition, the injury also triggers an
inflammatory response that contributes to secondary tissue damage that leads to fur-
ther functional loss. Reducing inflammation after spinal cord injury (SCI) is therefore a
worthy therapeutic goal. Inflammation in the injured spinal cord is a complex response
that involves resident cells of the central nervous system as well as infiltrating immune
cells, and is mediated by a variety of molecular pathways and signaling molecules.
Here, we discuss approaches we have used to identify novel therapeutic targets to mod-
ulate the inflammatory response after SCI to reduce tissue damage and promote recov-
ery. Effective treatments for SCI will likely require a combination of approaches to reduce
inflammation and secondary damage with those that promote axon regeneration.
