Open AccessEffects of Wnt5a overexpression in spinal cord injury
Author(s) -
González Pau,
GonzálezFernández Carlos,
Rodríguez Francisco
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of cellular and molecular medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.44
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1582-4934
pISSN - 1582-1838
DOI - 10.1111/jcmm.16507
Subject(s) - spinal cord , corticospinal tract , myelin , spinal cord injury , glial scar , microglia , neuroscience , regeneration (biology) , serotonergic , biology , neuroglia , oligodendrocyte , microbiology and biotechnology , anatomy , central nervous system , medicine , receptor , immunology , serotonin , inflammation , biochemistry , diffusion mri , magnetic resonance imaging , radiology
Accordingly to its known function in corticospinal tract (CST) developmental growth, previous reports have shown an inhibitory role of Wnt5a in CST regeneration after spinal cord injury (SCI). Interestingly, it has been subsequently demonstrated that Wnt5a also modulates the developmental growth of non‐CST axons and that different Wnt5a receptors are expressed in neurons, oligodendrocytes, NG2+ glial precursors and reactive microglia/macrophages and astrocytes after SCI. However, the role of Wnt5a in the response of these cell types, in the regeneration of non‐CST axons and in functional recovery after SCI is currently unknown. To evaluate this, rats were subjected to spinal cord contusion and injected with a lentiviral vector generated to overexpress Wnt5a. Histological analyses were performed in spinal cord sections processed for the visualization of myelin, oligodendrocytes, neurons, microglia/macrophages, astrocytes, NG2+ glial precursors and serotonergic axons. Motor and bladder function recovery were also assessed. Further advancing our knowledge on the role of Wnt5a in SCI, we found that, besides its previously reported functions, Wnt5a overexpression elicits a reduction on neuronal cell density, the accumulation of NG2+ glial precursors and the descending serotonergic innervation in the affected areas, along with impairment of motor and bladder function recovery after SCI.