Enriching sensory regeneration after spinal injury by neuronal activity-dependent epigenetic reprogramming
Event details
| Date | 04.10.2016 |
| Hour | 15:00 › 16:00 |
| Speaker | Prof. Dr. Simone DI GIOVANNI |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Injury to the adult mammalian nervous system leads to permanent deficits in sensory and motor function. This is partly due to the inability of neurons to initiate an effective molecular regenerative response, resulting in failed axon regeneration. Sensory neurons in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) are vital for physiological and post-injury sensorimotor function as they receive and convey sensory information from the environment to motor circuits in the spinal cord and brain. Here we show that exposing mice to environmental enrichment (EE) prior to an injury induces a long-lasting increase in the regenerative potential of DRG neurons. Moreover, prior exposure to EE augmented sensory axon regeneration and functional improvements after spinal cord injury, which was further enhanced when combined with a conditioning injury. Specifically, EE stimulated an increase in sensory axon regeneration by enhancing neuronal activity and calcium signalling, leading to increased axonal transport and CBP-dependent histone acetylation, which were required to reprogram the DRG neurons for regeneration. Importantly, the use of a small molecule based CBP activator promotes recovery after spinal cord injury by promoting axonal regeneration of sensory and motor fibers. Overall this work portrays EE as a physiological means of priming sensory neurons for functionally relevant axon regeneration after injury, which is elicited through increased neuronal activity leading to enduring epigenetic reprogramming. Lastly, it suggests a novel translational opportunity for clinical SCI with the use of a small molecule based CBP activator, which promotes recovery after experimental SCI.
Practical information
- Informed public
- Free
Organizer
- SV BMI Host: Prof. Dr. Grégoire Courtine