Scientists have determined a gene signature that is linked to the severity of spinal cord injury in animals and humans, according to a study in the journal eLife.
The discovery of key genes that are switched on or off in response to spinal cord injury could inform the development of biomarkers that predict recovery and possibly pinpoint new targets for treatment.
At the moment, there are no widely available treatments capable of immediately restoring motor and sensory function after injury. A major barrier is the lack of understanding of the complex cascade of biological processes that occur when a spinal cord injury happens.
"Our understanding of the pathophysiological processes triggered by spinal cord injury is fragmentary," explains senior author. "We set out to integrate the data from decades of small-scale studies using a systems biology approach."
The team first reviewed past experiments to find genes associated with the response to spinal cord injury, searching through more than 500 studies. They found 695 unique human genes that had been linked with the response to spinal cord injury and, of these, 151 were linked in more than one study. Further analysis showed that the genes are biologically and functionally related, coding for groups of protein molecules that physically interact with one another.
To find if these genes truly reflect functional changes after spinal cord injury, the team constructed a network of genes from healthy human spinal cords and integrated this data with those determined from the experimental studies. They found that two groups of genes (M3 and M7) included a high number of the genes that had been previously pinpointed in experiments as important in the response to spinal cord injury.
They next looked at five experimental studies of gene expression in mice and rats after spinal cord injury to see whether these gene groups (and others) were significantly altered. They found that four gene groups, including M3 and M7, were switched on, and a further two gene groups were switched off. Some gene groups were not as connected in mice and rats as in humans, suggesting that they might be human-specific markers of spinal cord injury. Other gene groups were only important at a certain time-point after injury, suggesting that they are involved in the transition from acute to chronic injury.
Of all the gene groups studied, M3 genes were most strongly linked to injury severity in both mice and rats, which suggests that these genes could make an ideal biomarker for predicting injury severity. Indeed, one of the genes in this group, annexin A1, previously associated with spinal cord injury, was able to perfectly differentiate between moderately and severely injured rats when used as a biomarker.
"We have developed an integrated, systems-level approach to understand the mechanisms of spinal cord injury," concludes lead author. "We have identified gene signatures that predict injury severity and, if reversed therapeutically, could potentially increase functional recovery."
https://elifesciences.org/for-the-press/e0f12133/gene-signature-predicts-outcome-after-spinal-cord-injury
https://elifesciences.org/articles/39188
Latest News
Abusive drugs hijack natura…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
Mechanism of action of the…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
Role of fat in rare neurolo…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
How protein synthesis in de…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Apr
Atlas of mRNA variants in d…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Apr
Other Top Stories
A new role for chaperone, Hsp90
Read more
Molecular details of CRISPR-Cas9 RNA editing technology
Read more
Cutaneous gene therapy to treat cocaine overdose
Read more
The mechanism protecting replicated DNA from degradation
Read more
Nobel Prize for Chemistry goes to "directed evolution of enzymes an…
Read more
Protocols
A programmable targeted pro…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
MemPrep, a new technology f…
By newseditor
Posted 08 Apr
A tangible method to assess…
By newseditor
Posted 08 Apr
Stem cell-derived vessels-o…
By newseditor
Posted 06 Apr
Single-cell biclustering fo…
By newseditor
Posted 01 Apr
Publications
Exploiting pancreatic cance…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
Structure of antiviral drug…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
Type-I-interferon-responsiv…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
Selenium, diabetes, and the…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
Long-term neuropsychologica…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
Presentations
Hydrogels in Drug Delivery
By newseditor
Posted 12 Apr
Lipids
By newseditor
Posted 31 Dec
Cell biology of carbohydrat…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Nov
RNA interference (RNAi)
By newseditor
Posted 23 Oct
RNA structure and functions
By newseditor
Posted 19 Oct
Posters
A chemical biology/modular…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Aug
Single-molecule covalent ma…
By newseditor
Posted 04 Jul
ASCO-2020-HEALTH SERVICES R…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-HEAD AND NECK CANCER
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-GENITOURINARY CAN…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar