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Professor Sue Barnett, University of Glasgow

The development of an in vitro model of CNS injury to identify factors which promote repair

Abstract of Research

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a major cause of permanent disability resulting in paralysis and loss of sensation because of the interruption of communication between the brain and spinal cord below the injury. These deficits are permanent because the central nervous system (CNS), once damaged, has little capacity for repair. The economic cost of care and social welfare support is estimated to be £500m per year. Research into spinal cord repair has seen significant progress in recent years with several treatments, including cell transplantation, providing encouraging results. However, transplanted cells alone do not seem sufficient to promote functional regeneration, therefore combined therapies such as cell transplantation, growth factors and other reagents are being explored to try to promote regeneration.

Models of SCI generally involve using rats. These experiments require technically demanding and time consuming surgery which is followed by substantial disability in the animals and long-term post-operative care. Variation in the levels of injury necessitates using large numbers of animals often up to ten animals in each of the experimental and control treatment groups. To test combined therapies for SCI will require even larger numbers of animals.

This project aims to develop and evaluate an in vitro model of spinal cord injury as a screening tool for therapeutic agents thus replacing the use of large numbers of animals. Preliminary data has shown that it is possible to mimic the intact CNS in vitro , with dissociated cells forming axonal tracts (nerve fibres) ensheathed with myelin by glia (support cells) These cultures form structures which can be cut and areas of damage detected even after 36 days in culture. With further evaluation they could be used to study axon regeneration and combined therapies which may promote repair.