Strategies and Prospects of Effective Neural Circuits Reconstruction After Spinal Cord Injury
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Yang et al. Cell Death and Disease (2020) 11:439 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-020-2620-z Cell Death & Disease REVIEW ARTICLE Open Access Strategies and prospects of effective neural circuits reconstruction after spinal cord injury Biao Yang1,2,FengZhang1,2,FengCheng1,2, Liwei Ying1,2,ChengguiWang1,2,KesiShi1,2,JingkaiWang1,2,KaishunXia1,2, Zhe Gong1,2, Xianpeng Huang1,2,CaoYu1,2, Fangcai Li1,2, Chengzhen Liang1,2 and Qixin Chen1,2 Abstract Due to the disconnection of surviving neural elements after spinal cord injury (SCI), such patients had to suffer irreversible loss of motor or sensory function, and thereafter enormous economic and emotional burdens were brought to society and family. Despite many strategies being dealing with SCI, there is still no effective regenerative therapy. To date, significant progress has been made in studies of SCI repair strategies, including gene regulation of neural regeneration, cell or cell-derived exosomes and growth factors transplantation, repair of biomaterials, and neural signal stimulation. The pathophysiology of SCI is complex and multifaceted, and its mechanisms and processes are incompletely understood. Thus, combinatorial therapies have been demonstrated to be more effective, and lead to better neural circuits reconstruction and functional recovery. Combinations of biomaterials, stem cells, growth factors, drugs, and exosomes have been widely developed. However, simply achieving axon regeneration will not spontaneously lead to meaningful functional recovery. Therefore, the formation and remodeling of functional neural circuits also depend on rehabilitation exercises, such as exercise training, electrical stimulation (ES) and Brain–Computer Interfaces (BCIs). In this review, we summarize the recent progress in biological and engineering strategies for reconstructing neural circuits and promoting functional recovery after SCI, and emphasize current challenges and future directions. 1234567890():,; 1234567890():,; 1234567890():,; 1234567890():,; Facts as exercise training, ES and BCIs. ● Combinatorial therapies have been demonstrated to ● A variety of therapeutic strategies, including gene be more effective, and lead to better neural circuits regulation of neural regeneration, cell or cell-derived reconstruction and functional recovery. exosomes and growth factors transplantation, repair of biomaterials, and neural signal stimulation, lead to Open questions axonal regeneration and neural circuit reconstruction related to functional recovery. ● What are the mechanisms of scar formation ● The formation and remodeling of functional neural after SCI? circuits also depend on rehabilitation exercises, such ● What are the mechanisms that limit the effective formation and regeneration of new neural circuits? ● Is the formation and remodeling of functional neural Correspondence: Fangcai Li ([email protected])or circuits also depend on rehabilitation exercises, such Chengzhen Liang ([email protected])or as exercise training, ES and BCIs? Qixin Chen ([email protected]) 1Department of Orthopedics Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 310009 Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China Introduction 2Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Bone and Joint Precision and Department of Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a severely disabling disease Orthopedics Research Institute of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang that leads to loss of sensation, motor, and autonomic 310009, China 1 These authors contributed equally: Biao Yang, Feng Zhang function . Patients with SCI have a higher risk of Edited by N. Bazan © The Author(s) 2020 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a linktotheCreativeCommons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Official journal of the Cell Death Differentiation Association Yang et al. Cell Death and Disease (2020) 11:439 Page 2 of 14 complications, such as bladder dysfunction, sexual dys- tissues14. Secondary injury leads to demyelination of the function, gastrointestinal and respiratory problems, and axons, glial cell proliferation, the loss of damaged cells urinary tract infection2, resulting in death in severe cases. and the disconnection of living neurons, culminating in The leading cause of SCI in most regions is falls and road formation of a microenvironment that is not conducive injuries3, and the other reasons include acts of violence, to nerve regeneration15. In addition, in the chronic environmental heat and cold exposure, and sports/ stage, glial/fibrotic scars that inhibit cellular infiltra- recreation activities4. About 13% of patients with SCI tion16 can form an obstacle to axonal regeneration and worldwide suffer from limb dysfunction every year5. SCI is extension17. Astrocytic scars are widely regarded as the a devastating neurodegenerative disorder, which leads to main cause that transected axons fail to regrow after the physical and psychological problems of patients and SCI18, but when pericyte-derived fibrotic scars are brings an enormous economic burden on patients, their reduced at the lesion site, axonal regeneration and families and the social medical system6. functional recovery will be promoted19. Extracellular The permanent disability after SCI is related to the matrix (ECM) proteins deposited within and around failure of axon regeneration and neural circuit recon- glial/fibrous scars limit axon growth, such as chon- struction1. To date, there are no effective treatments droitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs), fibronectin, that can completely regenerate axons after SCI. Over the laminin, and collagen. Among them, CSPGs play a past decade, significant progress has been made not only major role in inhibiting axon regeneration20,including in traditional research fields, such as inflammation, scar aggrecan, neurogen and neural/glial antigen21.Fur- formation, cell transplantation, axon regeneration, and thermore, myelin-associated inhibitors that strongly biomaterial repair, but also in determining the inhibit axon and myelin regeneration, including myelin- mechanisms of spinal cord automation, spontaneous associated glycoprotein (MAG), Nogo, netrin, ephrins, circuit reorganization and functional recovery after and oligodendrocyte-myelin glycoprotein (OMgp), can SCI7,8. Because of the complexity issues of pathological lead to growth cone collapse after SCI22. Poor axon processes that occur following SCI9,combinatorial growth ability and inhibitory factors that hinder axon strategies that solve the problems caused by different regeneration in the scar23 lead to the failure of regen- aspects are expected to be more effective, and lead to eration and repair of spinal cord and reconstruction of better functional recovery10. Combinations of bioma- neural circuits. Therefore, the therapeutic focus is on terials, stem cells, growth factors, drugs, and exosomes how to promote axon regeneration, myelinate axons and have been widely developed (Fig. 1). However, func- reconstruct neural circuits. tional recovery depends on strengthening neuroplasti- city to promote the growth of injured and spared axons, Stem cells transplantation for SCI to increase the strength of the remaining connections and Stem cells play a neuroprotective role by differentiating to promote the formation of new spontaneous circuits10. into specialized cell types to replace damaged cells and Therefore, the formation and remodeling of functional secreting factors to promote the survival and activity of neural circuits also depend on rehabilitation exercises, these cells24,25 (Fig. 3). In addition, the mechanisms of such as exercise training, ES and BCIs (Fig. 1). In this stem cells that promote repair and function improvement review, we summarize the recent progress in biological include immunomodulation, anti-inflammatory effect, and engineering strategies for reconstructing neural cir- inhibition of scar formation, axon and myelin regenera- cuits and promoting functional recovery after SCI, and tion, and prevention of vascular loss or promotion of – emphasize current challenges and future directions. angiogenesis24 26 (Fig. 3). Pathophysiology Neural stem/progenitor cells SCI is mainly caused by the mechanism of primary and Neural stem/progenitor cells (NSCs/NPCs) can dif- secondaryinjury(Fig.2). The primary injury is irrever- ferentiate into neurons for the repair of nerve tissue sible, which is related to the initial traumatic damage damage caused by SCI, and into oligodendrocytes to such as compression, stretch, laceration and hemor- promote axon regeneration and myelination25,27.NSCs/ rhage, thus triggering a complex cascade of acute and NPCs also can regulate astrocytes to protect tissue chronic degenerative events that further disrupt neu- integrity28 and improve the microenvironment of the ronal function11. During SCI, the primary injury leads to