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Updated: Apr 25, 2026
Spinal Cord Transection in the Larval Zebrafish
Published on: May 21, 2014
Function of Sox2 in ependymal cells of lesioned spinal cords in adult zebrafish
Kazuhiro Ogai1, Kumi Nakatani2, Suguru Hisano2
1Department of Molecular Neurobiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takaramachi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-8640, Japan; Wellness Promotion Science Center, Institute of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, Kanazawa University, 5-11-80 Kodatsuno, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-0942, Japan.
Abstract:
The sex-determining region Y-box 2 (Sox2) is related not only to pluripotency, but also to cell proliferation. Zebrafish can regain their motor function after spinal cord injury (SCI). Following SCI, new motor neurons are produced from proliferating ependymal cells. Here, we investigated the expression and function of Sox2 after SCI in zebrafish. Sox2 was upregulated as early as 1 day post-lesion (dpl) in ependymal cells, which was followed by cell proliferation. Sox2 knockdown significantly decreased the number of proliferating cells at 5dpl. The results of this study suggest a role of Sox2 as one of the proliferation initiators in ependymal cells after SCI.
