It is quite obvious that an injury to the spinal cord is never good news. Usually, any damage to the spinal cord fails to completely heal (though may progress overtime) because nerve cells are not able to regenerate. Injury may cause scarring to the area of the spinal cord, not allowing nerve cells the space/adequate surface area needed in order to be able to regenerate affected nerve fibers which are sometimes trapped within the scar tissue. Unfortunately, if an individual suffers from a spinal cord injury (dependent of the location on the spinal cord) they may have a variety of diseases develop due to the harm done to the nerves of the spinal cord. A few of these diseases may include tumors, infections like meningitis and polio, autoimmune disease, and degenerative diseases such as spinal muscular atrophy. Paralysis may also concede and can be a whole body (medically coined as tetraplegia/quadriplegia) paralysis or a paralysis which only affects the lower body (paraplegia).
Now, why is research on treatments for spinal cord injury so relevant and not to be taken lightly? Well “Why is the spinal cord important?” -this is a question which can be entered into google search with results yielding something along the lines of the spinal cord helps the brain send nerve signals to the entire body; and inversely, the spinal cord helps the body send nerve signals to the brain. Why is THIS important? Well, the brain must be able to control the physical body based on wants and needs which are dictated by the physical interactions the the body may be experiencing. So, since the brain is the commander, the spinal cord is something along the lines of a messenger for the physical body and its movements of function.
At Loyola University Chicago where I attend as a major in Biology, I have also picked up a minor in neuroscience, (Siri, what is neuroscience? The study of how the nervous system develops— it has a focus on the brain and its impact on behavior and cognitive function.) here, I had the pleasure and complete privilege of being able to attend a neuroscience based seminar where therein I am able to listen to research conducted by fascinating professionals in STEM and the contextual neuroscience field. This last week in February, I was able to attend a research presentation introduced by Dr.Martin Oudega, a research scientist and Professor currently at Northwestern University in Illinois.
During the seminar, the study “The effect of a nanofiber-hydrogel composite on neural tissue repair and regeneration in the contused spinal cord” was introduced, explained, and discussed. For context, in this experiment, the hydrogel used was made from hyaluronic acid or HA (which is a substance naturally produced by and found in the body—skin, connective tissue and eyes). As stated above, spinal cord injuries cause loss of nerve tissues because of limited ability of fiber regeneration at the site due to scarring. Dr.Martin Oudega explains how an injectable nano fiber-hydrogel was engineered and how this hydrogel was injected into 15 rat specimen which were anesthetized first and then contused and with spinal cords left exposed. Over the course of the experiment, it was found that the NHC or nanofiber-hydrogel composite was successful in providing mechanical support to the contusion on the spinal cord and enhanced pro-regenerative macrophage polarization, angiogenesis, axon growth, and neurogenesis in injured nerve tissue.
Similarly, there is a recent cell therapy study published using induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons as an approach for spinal cord injury regeneration. This study was published February 07, 2022 and is titled “Regenerating the Injured Spinal Cord at the Chronic Phase by Engineered IPSCs-Derived 3D Neuronal Networks” by Lior Wertheim,Reuven Edri,Yona Goldshmit,Tomer Kagan,Nadav Noor,Angela Ruban,Assaf Shapira,Irit Gat-Viks,Yaniv Assaf,Tal Dvir.
In this study, somatic cells from the patient are used and “re-programmed” in order to be differentiated to the desired cells. These cells are injected to the injury site as well as pre-formed 3D neuronal networks are inserted in place of naturally produced scar tissue. The idea behind this study was that the insertion of the neuronal network would create an embryonic-like environment where nerve tissue could actually regenerate in comparison to scar tissue where regeneration is obviously limited. This study also utilized a hydrogel composite composed of ECM (extracellular matrix- network fo protein/other molecules which surround and give structure to cells/tissue) was used. This hydrogel provided the an inductive microenvironment sufficient to attract progenitor cells (descendants of stem cells which further differentiate into specialized cell types of that same tissue). Alike the Dr.Martin Oudega’s experiment, this study was also positive in its findings. Analysis of cellular content displayed reduced inflammation and elevate expressions of markers associated with growing axons during regeneration were found. Interestingly, this study suggests that a personalized gel can be cellularly engineered specific to the individual by taking a small biopsy of somatic cells from the patient.
Both of these studies are exceedingly interesting. One suggests an approach to spinal cord nerve regeneration by means of a hydrogel which can reprogram cells within an ECM based induced environment specific/personalized to the individual patient. The other study further explores the induction of a hyaluronic acid based nanofiber-hydrogel which can treat spinal cord injury by enhancing/motivating mechanical support to the contused spinal cord area and further producing regenerative growth and genesis of injured tissue without the need for other exogenous factors.
Both of these studies aid in further positive directions for treatments for those suffering from paralysis and spinal cord injury-rooted diseases.
Li, Xiaowei, et al. “The Effect of a Nanofiber-Hydrogel Composite on Neural Tissue Repair and Regeneration in the Contused Spinal Cord.” Biomaterials, vol. 245, 2020, p. 119978., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2020.119978.
Wertheim, Lior, et al. “Regenerating the Injured Spinal Cord at the Chronic Phase by Engineered Ipscs‐Derived 3D Neuronal Networks.” Advanced Science, 2022, p. 2105694., https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202105694.
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