Protective effects of gonadal hormones on spinal motoneurons following spinal cord injury  

作　　者：Dale R.Sengelaub Xiao-Ming Xu 

机构地区：[1]Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University [2]Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Group, Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Department of Neurological Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine

出　　处：《Neural Regeneration Research》2018年第6期971-976,共6页中国神经再生研究（英文版）

基　　金：supported by grants from Indiana Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Fund(ISCBIRF);by IU’s Office of the Vice Provost for Research through the Faculty Research Support Program to DRS;NIH R01 NS103481,R01 NS100531;Department of Veterans Affairs I01 RX002356,I01 BX003705;Craig H Neilsen Foundation 296749,Indiana Department of Health 019919,ISCBIRF;Mari Hulman George Endowment Fund to XMX

摘　　要：Spinal cord injury（SCI） results in lesions that destroy tissue and disrupt spinal tracts, producing deficits in locomotor and autonomic function. The majority of treatment strategies after SCI have concentrated on the damaged spinal cord, for example working to reduce lesion size or spread, or encouraging regrowth of severed descending axonal projections through the lesion, hoping to re-establish synaptic connectivity with caudal targets. In our work, we have focused on a novel target for treatment after SCI, surviving spinal motoneurons and their target musculature, with the hope of developing effective treatments to preserve or restore lost function following SCI. We previously demonstrated that motoneurons, and the muscles they innervate, show pronounced atrophy after SCI. Importantly, SCI-induced atrophy of motoneuron dendrites can be attenuated by treatment with gonadal hormones, testosterone and its active metabolites, estradiol and dihydrotestosterone. Similarly, SCI-induced reductions in muscle fiber cross-sectional areas can be prevented by treatment with androgens. Together, these findings suggest that regressive changes in motoneuron and muscle morphology seen after SCI can be ameliorated by treatment with gonadal hormones, further supporting a role for steroid hormones as neurotherapeutic agents in the injured nervous system.Spinal cord injury（SCI） results in lesions that destroy tissue and disrupt spinal tracts, producing deficits in locomotor and autonomic function. The majority of treatment strategies after SCI have concentrated on the damaged spinal cord, for example working to reduce lesion size or spread, or encouraging regrowth of severed descending axonal projections through the lesion, hoping to re-establish synaptic connectivity with caudal targets. In our work, we have focused on a novel target for treatment after SCI, surviving spinal motoneurons and their target musculature, with the hope of developing effective treatments to preserve or restore lost function following SCI. We previously demonstrated that motoneurons, and the muscles they innervate, show pronounced atrophy after SCI. Importantly, SCI-induced atrophy of motoneuron dendrites can be attenuated by treatment with gonadal hormones, testosterone and its active metabolites, estradiol and dihydrotestosterone. Similarly, SCI-induced reductions in muscle fiber cross-sectional areas can be prevented by treatment with androgens. Together, these findings suggest that regressive changes in motoneuron and muscle morphology seen after SCI can be ameliorated by treatment with gonadal hormones, further supporting a role for steroid hormones as neurotherapeutic agents in the injured nervous system.

关 键 词：TESTOSTERONE DIHYDROTESTOSTERONE ESTRADIOL STEROIDS ATROPHY neuroprotection morphology DENDRITES muscle fibers retrograde labeling 

分 类 号：R651.2[医药卫生—外科学]