AQP4 Role In Spinal Cord Injuries

 Spinal cord injuries are very relevant within our society. Spinal cord injury (SCI) is an injury in which one's mobility is greatly affected and can destroy the anatomical structure that further causes neurological issues. In a study done by Gupta, 83% of participants in a total of 160 individuals within Canada reported that they use at least one non-prescription medication (Gupta et al, 2021). One can only assume how relevant spinal cord injuries and treatments must be in America when compared to the study done in Canada. Other than prescriptions, there are plenty more treatments and possible ones that are waiting to be discovered. However, until now, SCI treatments tend to be much more limited in approach and there is a clear need for a more effective treatment. 

    This study The role of aquaporin 4 (AQP4) in spinal cord injury (Pan et al, 2021), tries to understand the clear role of AQP-4 and its association with edema, glial scarring, and inflammation that occurs after a spinal cord injury. As mentioned, AQP-4 plays a big role in the pathological process after an injury. AQP is a part of the integral membrane protein family and contributes differently based on its subgroups. AQP guides diffusion and can differ the osmotic pressure in intracellular space (Pan et al, 2021). Due to this, it plays a large role after an SCI. This study found similar expression in the spinal cord within rodents. It found that AQP-4 has the same function in a rodent's spinal cord as a human's (Pan et al, 2021). 

    The study found that there is a large uptake in water within the injured area. Therefore, finding the spinal edema plays an important role in the development of SCI and issues with physical distortion and destruction of nerve fibers and blood vessels (Pan et al, 2021). Nerve inflammation also plays a large role in the pathological process as glial cells target AQP-4. This is significant as glial cells targeting AQP-4 have been able to successfully show good effects on spinal cord injuries (Pan et al, 2021). They were able to find that AQP-4 expression inhibits spinal cord edema, and it increases with treatment. This study focuses on "secondary injuries" that are caused by the growth of glial scarring and inflammation. It was shown that astrocytes are what help reduce this phenomenon as it travels to the inflamed area (Pan et al, 2021). 

    This study notes how important AQP-4 is within SPI. Other than thinking the broad sense of spinal cord injuries, it is always good to think about the deeper effects that lead up to a more positive effect on healing. AQP-4 can make sure the pathological process that is needed for treatment works efficiently in relying heavily on the issue of diffusion. Any treatments of drugs that successfully focus on targeting AQP-4 have shown positive effects on spinal cord injuries both for humans and animals. AQP-4 expression is important for secondary injuries that are caused by glial scarring and neuroinflammatory. 

Literature Referenced 

Gupta, S., Dhawan, J., McColl, M. A., Smith, K., & McColl, A. (2022, February 7). Use and costs of non-prescription medications among people with spinal cord injury. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Retrieved March 4, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003999322002027 

Pan, Q.-L., Lin, F.-X., Liu, N., & Chen, R.-C. (2021, December 6). The role of Aquaporin 4 (AQP4) in Spinal Cord Injury. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy. Retrieved March 4, 2022, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753332221011689