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      Expressing Constitutively Active Rheb in Adult Dorsal Root Ganglion Neurons Enhances the Integration of Sensory Axons that Regenerate Across a Chondroitinase-Treated Dorsal Root Entry Zone Following Dorsal Root Crush

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          Abstract

          While the peripheral branch of dorsal root ganglion neurons (DRG) can successfully regenerate after injury, lesioned central branch axons fail to regrow across the dorsal root entry zone (DREZ), the interface between the dorsal root and the spinal cord. This lack of regeneration is due to the limited regenerative capacity of adult sensory axons and the growth-inhibitory environment at the DREZ, which is similar to that found in the glial scar after a central nervous system (CNS) injury. We hypothesized that transduction of adult DRG neurons using adeno-associated virus (AAV) to express a constitutively-active form of the GTPase Rheb (caRheb) will increase their intrinsic growth potential after a dorsal root crush. Additionally, we posited that if we combined that approach with digestion of upregulated chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPG) at the DREZ with chondroitinase ABC (ChABC), we would promote regeneration of sensory axons across the DREZ into the spinal cord. We first assessed if this strategy promotes neuritic growth in an in vitro model of the glial scar containing CSPG. ChABC allowed for some regeneration across the once potently inhibitory substrate. Combining ChABC treatment with expression of caRheb in DRG significantly improved this growth. We then determined if this combination strategy also enhanced regeneration through the DREZ after dorsal root crush in adult rats in vivo. After unilaterally crushing C4-T1 dorsal roots, we injected AAV5-caRheb or AAV5-GFP into the ipsilateral C5-C8 DRGs. ChABC or PBS was injected into the ipsilateral dorsal horn at C5-C8 to digest CSPG, for a total of four animal groups (caRheb + ChABC, caRheb + PBS, GFP + ChABC, GFP + PBS). Regeneration was rarely observed in PBS-treated animals, whereas short-distance regrowth across the DREZ was observed in ChABC-treated animals. No difference in axon number or length between the ChABC groups was observed, which may be related to intraganglionic inflammation induced by the injection. ChABC-mediated regeneration is functional, as stimulation of ipsilateral median and ulnar nerves induced neuronal c-Fos expression in deafferented dorsal horn in both ChABC groups. Interestingly, caRheb + ChABC animals had significantly more c-Fos + nuclei indicating that caRheb expression in DRGs promoted functional synaptogenesis of their axons that regenerated beyond a ChABC-treated DREZ.

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          A new and sensitive method for measuring thermal nociception in cutaneous hyperalgesia.

          A method to measure cutaneous hyperalgesia to thermal stimulation in unrestrained animals is described. The testing paradigm uses an automated detection of the behavioral end-point; repeated testing does not contribute to the development of the observed hyperalgesia. Carrageenan-induced inflammation resulted in significantly shorter paw withdrawal latencies as compared to saline-treated paws and these latency changes corresponded to a decreased thermal nociceptive threshold. Both the thermal method and the Randall-Selitto mechanical method detected dose-related hyperalgesia and its blockade by either morphine or indomethacin. However, the thermal method showed greater bioassay sensitivity and allowed for the measurement of other behavioral parameters in addition to the nociceptive threshold.
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            Promoting axon regeneration in the adult CNS by modulation of the PTEN/mTOR pathway.

            The failure of axons to regenerate is a major obstacle for functional recovery after central nervous system (CNS) injury. Removing extracellular inhibitory molecules results in limited axon regeneration in vivo. To test for the role of intrinsic impediments to axon regrowth, we analyzed cell growth control genes using a virus-assisted in vivo conditional knockout approach. Deletion of PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog), a negative regulator of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, in adult retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) promotes robust axon regeneration after optic nerve injury. In wild-type adult mice, the mTOR activity was suppressed and new protein synthesis was impaired in axotomized RGCs, which may contribute to the regeneration failure. Reactivating this pathway by conditional knockout of tuberous sclerosis complex 1, another negative regulator of the mTOR pathway, also leads to axon regeneration. Thus, our results suggest the manipulation of intrinsic growth control pathways as a therapeutic approach to promote axon regeneration after CNS injury.
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              PTEN Deletion Enhances the Regenerative Ability of Adult Corticospinal Neurons

              Despite the essential role of the corticospinal tract (CST) in controlling voluntary movements, successful regeneration of large numbers of injured CST axons beyond a spinal cord lesion has never been achieved. Here we demonstrate a critical involvement of PTEN/mTOR in controlling the regenerative capacity of mouse corticospinal neurons. Upon the completion of development, the regrowth potential of CST axons lost and this is accompanied by a down-regulation of mTOR activity in corticospinal neurons. Axonal injury further diminishes neuronal mTOR activity in these neurons. Forced up-regulation of mTOR activity in corticospinal neurons by conditional deletion of PTEN, a negative regulator of mTOR, enhances compensatory sprouting of uninjured CST axons and even more strikingly, enables successful regeneration of a cohort of injured CST axons past a spinal cord lesion. Furthermore, these regenerating CST axons possess the ability to reform synapses in spinal segments distal to the injury. Thus, modulating neuronal intrinsic PTEN/mTOR activity represents a potential therapeutic strategy for promoting axon regeneration and functional repair after adult spinal cord injury.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Journal
                Front Mol Neurosci
                Front Mol Neurosci
                Front. Mol. Neurosci.
                Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience
                Frontiers Media S.A.
                1662-5099
                05 July 2016
                2016
                : 9
                : 49
                Affiliations
                [1] 1Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine Philadelphia, PA, USA
                [2] 2Department of Neurology, Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY, USA
                [3] 3Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY, USA
                Author notes

                Edited by: Andrew Paul Tosolini, University College of London, UK

                Reviewed by: Kevin Kyung Park, University of Miami, USA; Murray Blackmore, Marquette University, USA

                *Correspondence: Veronica J. Tom veronica.tom@ 123456drexelmed.edu
                Article
                10.3389/fnmol.2016.00049
                4932115
                27458339
                dd094fc7-224f-427b-918c-c8d23d3e8746
                Copyright © 2016 Wu, Klaw, Kholodilov, Burke, Detloff, Côté and Tom.

                This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution and reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

                History
                : 28 April 2016
                : 07 June 2016
                Page count
                Figures: 11, Tables: 0, Equations: 0, References: 88, Pages: 18, Words: 12124
                Funding
                Funded by: National Institutes of Health 10.13039/100000002
                Award ID: R01 NS085426
                Award ID: P50 NS038370
                Funded by: Craig H. Neilsen Foundation 10.13039/100005191
                Award ID: 280557
                Award ID: 221439
                Categories
                Neuroscience
                Original Research

                Neurosciences
                dorsal root crush,axon regeneration,rheb,chondroitinase,c-fos,inflammation
                Neurosciences
                dorsal root crush, axon regeneration, rheb, chondroitinase, c-fos, inflammation

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