Following Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), Secondary Degeneration, Which Is Defined As a Cascade

09086 Targeting the Immune System: A Possible Therapy to Spinal Cord Injury

Author: Ellika Sadr

Dr. Hans Keirstead

Following Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), secondary degeneration, which is defined as a cascade of chemical and physiological events, occurs. Secondary degeneration leads to progressive tissue loss and cystic cavitation evolving away from the site of initial trauma. The immune system is thought to play a critical role in secondary degeneration; the initial phase of the immune response involving leukocyte invasion is thought to be especially destructive, and is preceded by the expression of specific leukocyte chemoattractants, including chemokines. Among the chemokines expressed during inflammatory neurologic trauma is T-lymphocyte chemoattractant chemokine CXCL10. We have previously illustrated that CXCL10 is upregulated following SCI and that neutralization of chemokine CXCL10 is an effective prophylactic treatment. This study focuses on anti-CXCL10 treatment as a therapy. Mice were treated with anti-CXCL10 one-hour post SCI, which has clearly shown to decrease functional deficits, decrease the number of T-cells at the injury site and reduce tissue loss. Additionally, we hypothesize that anti-CXCL10 treatment reduces apoptosis leading to tissue sparing and lessened behavioral deficits following SCI.