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Updated: Jun 29, 2025
Investigating Functional Regeneration in Organotypic Spinal Cord Co-cultures Grown on Multi-electrode Arrays
Published on: September 23, 2015
Harnessing developmental dynamics of spinal cord extracellular matrix improves regenerative potential of spinal cord
Zheng Sun1, Zhenni Chen1, Man Yin1
1State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
Abstract:
Neonatal spinal cord tissues exhibit remarkable regenerative capabilities as compared to adult spinal cord tissues after injury, but the role of extracellular matrix (ECM) in this process has remained elusive. Here, we found that early developmental spinal cord had higher levels of ECM proteins associated with neural development and axon growth, but fewer inhibitory proteoglycans, compared to those of adult spinal cord. Decellularized spinal cord ECM from neonatal (DNSCM) and adult (DASCM) rabbits preserved these differences. DNSCM promoted proliferation, migration, and neuronal differentiation of neural progenitor cells (NPCs) and facilitated axonal outgrowth and regeneration of spinal cord organoids more effectively than DASCM. Pleiotrophin (PTN) and Tenascin (TNC) in DNSCM were identified as contributors to these abilities. Furthermore, DNSCM demonstrated superior performance as a delivery vehicle for NPCs and organoids in spinal cord injury (SCI) models. This suggests that ECM cues from early development stages might significantly contribute to the prominent regeneration ability in spinal cord.
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