Building bridges, not walls: spinal cord regeneration in zebrafish

Spinal cord injury is a devastating condition in which massive cell death and disruption of neural circuitry lead to long-term chronic functional impairment and paralysis. In mammals, spinal cord tissue has minimal capacity to regenerate after injury. In stark contrast, the regeneration of a complet...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Valentina Cigliola, Clayton J. Becker, Kenneth D. Poss
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Company of Biologists 2020-05-01
Series:Disease Models & Mechanisms
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dmm.biologists.org/content/13/5/dmm044131
Description
Summary:Spinal cord injury is a devastating condition in which massive cell death and disruption of neural circuitry lead to long-term chronic functional impairment and paralysis. In mammals, spinal cord tissue has minimal capacity to regenerate after injury. In stark contrast, the regeneration of a completely transected spinal cord and accompanying reversal of paralysis in adult zebrafish is arguably one of the most spectacular biological phenomena in nature. Here, we review reports from the last decade that dissect the mechanisms of spinal cord regeneration in zebrafish. We highlight recent progress as well as areas requiring emphasis in a line of study that has great potential to uncover strategies for human spinal cord repair.
ISSN:1754-8403
1754-8411