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Spinal cord regeneration: intrinsic properties and emerging mechanisms
Ellen A G Chernoff1, Kazuna Sato, Angela Corn
1Department of Biology and the Indiana University Center for Regenerative Biology and Medicine, School of Science, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), 723 W. Michigan St., Indianapolis, IN 46202-5132, USA. echernof@iupui.edu
Abstract:
Injured spinal cord regenerates in adult fish and urodele amphibians, young tadpoles of anuran amphibians, lizard tails, embryonic birds and mammals, and in adults of at least some strains of mice. The extent of this regeneration is described with respect to axonal regrowth, neurogenesis, glial responses, and maintenance of an 'embryonic' environment. The regeneration process in amphibian spinal cord demonstrates that gap replacement and caudal regeneration share some properties with developing spinal cord. This review considers the extent to which intrinsically regenerating spinal cord demonstrates neural stem cell behavior and to what extent anterior-posterior and dorsal-ventral patterning might be involved.