A small molecule called TTK21 can accelerate spinal cord regeneration: given 12 weeks after injury, it activates genes that promote the re-growth of neuronal extensions (axons) by promoting the plasticity of nerve connections (synapses).
This is demonstrated by the study conducted on mice by researchers at the Imperial College of London led by the Italian Simone Di Giovanni.
The results, published in the journal Plos Biology, could pave the way for new therapies in humans as well.
The experimental treatment lasted 10 weeks and resulted in turning on regeneration genes by activating the CBP / p300 family of proteins.
The most noticeable effect was the 'sprouting' of more axons in the spinal cord.
The therapy also favored the growth of sensory axons (the extensions of neurons that carry information from the sensory organs to the central nervous system) while it stopped the retraction of motor axons (which transmit the impulses necessary for movement) above the point of the wound.
The next step will be to further enhance these effects and induce the axons to reconnect with the rest of the nervous system, so that the animals can regain the ability to move with agility.
“This work - says Di Giovanni - shows that a drug called TTK21, administered systemically once a week after a chronic spinal cord injury, can promote the re-growth of neurons in animals and increase the synapses necessary for nerve transmission.
This is important because chronic spinal cord injury is an incurable condition in which neuronal regrowth and repair fail.
We are now exploring the combination of this drug with spinal cord injury bridging strategies such as biomaterials to improve disability in patients. "