reversing brain, spinal injury
Reversing brain and spinal cord injuries may soon be possible with the discovery of a gene and protein responsible for stopping axon regrowth, Yale researchers say.
Brain and spinal cord axons can grow after injury if provided with an adequate environment, but the natural adult brain contains substances that inhibit axon regeneration. One of these inhibitors is the Nogo protein.
"We have identified the gene and protein responsible for this Nogo activity," says Dr. Stephen M. Strittmatter, associate professor of neurology and of neurobiology at the School of Medicine. "Our work suggests that the Nogo protein is an important and selective blocker of axon regeneration in the brain after central nervous system injury."
Published in the Jan. 27 issue of Nature, Strittmatter's study shows that Nogo protein generated in the laboratory stops axon growth. In addition, the protein is found exclusively in those areas of the brain that are most hostile to axon growth. Future experiments will determine whether this is the major inhibitor of axon regeneration in the brain or if it is one of several inhibitors.
After many adult nervous system injuries, the nerve cells survive but their connecting axons are severed and function is lost, says Strittmatter. Outside the brain and spinal cord, these connections usually grow back and recovery is excellent.
Inside the brain and spinal cord, very little axon regrowth occurs after injury and the clinical prognosis for recovery of function is poor, explains Strittmatter. One example of this is human spinal cord injury.
In addition to identifying the gene and protein, the team also found that the inhibitory activity is localized to a discrete portion of Nogo. Because this inhibitory portion is less than 10% of the entire Nogo protein, Strittmatter says, the identification and design of inhibitors of Nogo action should be greatly facilitated.
"If those inhibitors based on Nogo can be developed, the failure of axon regeneration and functional recovery after many brain and spinal injuries might be reversed," says Strittmatter.
Strittmatter's research team in the Department of Neurology at Yale included Tadzia GrandPré and Dr. Fumio Nakamura. The work was completed in collaboration with Dr. Timothy Vartanian of the Department of Neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Harvard Institutes of Medicine.
-- By Karen Peart
T H I S
Bulletin Home
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
Mathematician Ronald Coifman wins National Medal of Science
DeVita helping to shape nation's future strategy in the war on cancer
Concert by Yale Band will recall Glenn Miller era
Hustler publisher hails freedom of speech
Journalist Jonathan Rauch decries special interest groups
Influential architecture journal celebrates 50th year
Research shows patients with mental illnesses may get inadequate care after a heart attack
Discovery holds promise for reversing brain, spinal injury
Interdisciplinary studies to be focus of conference
Event will explore challenges of city management
Colgate-Palmolive official to discuss global strategy
YALE CANCER CENTER NEWS
Technology center at Stetson Library will help to bridge 'digital divide'
Africana specialist Woodson is new curator of Yale collection
Researchers find new stars in Milky Way's 'halo'
New drug to treat ailment that causes blindness is tested
Park ranger chosen as Yale Younger Poet
Alvin M. Liberman, specialist in psychology of speech, dies
Yale students will 'Stand Up and Dance' to make a difference
Special program celebrates modernist artists of WWI 'blast'
Comedy and characterizations combine in 'To the Top Top Top!' one-woman show
New SOM program examines changing economic landscape
White House recalls the legacy of C. Vann Woodward
Concerts raise funds to aid victims of Taiwan earthquake
Yale Scoreboard
. . . In the News . . .|Visiting on Campus|
Calendar of Events|Bulletin Board
Classified Ads|Search Archives|Production Schedule|Bulletin Staff
Public Affairs Home|News Releases|
E-Mail Us|Yale Home Page