Table 1.
Recent studies demonstrating the roles of the glial scar in SCI.
| Role of the glial scar in SCI | SCI model | Intervention | Results | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aids regeneration | T10 forceps crush injury (mice) | Inhibition of the glial scar by STAT3 knockout, TK/GCV, and diphtheria toxin-mediated astrocyte ablation | Failed to result in spontaneous axonal regrowth | Anderson et al. (2016) |
| T8 forceps crush injury (mice) | Selective ablation of the glial scar by the HSV-TK/GCV system | Failed to improve spontaneous functional recovery | Gu et al. (2019) | |
| C5 contusion (mice) | Glial scar disruption by NG2 ablation | Impaired forelimb locomotion | Hesp et al. (2018) | |
| Restricts inflammatory and fibrotic cells | L1/L2 forceps crush injury (mice) | Selective deletion of STAT3 | Increased the spread of inflammatory and fibrotic cells; increased neuronal loss | Wanner et al. (2013) |
| T10 aneurysm clip crush injury (mice) | Conditional ablation of astrocytic BMPR1a | Reduced astrocytic hypertrophy, increased inflammatory infiltration and reduced axon density | Sahni et al. (2010) | |
| L1/L2 longitudinal stab injury and moderate crush injury | Ablation of reactive astrocytes by the HSV-TK/GCV system | Failure of blood-brain barrier repair, leukocyte infiltration, local tissue disruption, severe demyelination, neuronal and oligodendrocyte death and pronounced motor deficits | Faulkner et al. (2004) | |
| Provides permissive bridges for axonal regeneration | T8 forceps crush injury (mice) | shRNA-mediated PTEN suppression | Most axons regrew along the astrocytic bridge | Zukor et al. (2013) |
| Induces A1 astrocytes, which kill neurons and mature oligodendrocytes | T10 weight-drop impact injury (rats) | Notch signaling pathway blockage | Suppresses A1 astrocyte transition | Qian et al. (2019) |
| T10 impactor contusion injury (rats) | Intravenous injection of mesenchymal stem cells or their exosomes | Decreased lesion area and improved motor function | Wang L. et al. (2018) | |
| Inhibits axonal regeneration | T10 impactor contusion injury (mice) | Reduction in glial scar formation through the pharmacological blockade of astrocytic type I collagen interaction | Improved axonal regeneration and functional recovery | Hara et al. (2017) |
| Produces CSPGs to inhibit spinal cord regeneration | T10 impactor contusion injury (mice) | Chondroitin sulphate N-acetylgalactosaminyl-transferase-1 gene knockout | Improved recovery compared to that of chondroitinase ABC-treated mice and wild-type mice | Takeuchi et al. (2013) |
| T8 impactor contusion injury (rats) | CSPG receptor blockade by a CSPG receptor PTPσ mimetic peptide | Facilitated functional recovery | Lang et al. (2015) | |
| C7 hemisection (rhesus monkeys) | Intraparenchymal injections of chondroitinase | Improved hand function | Rosenzweig et al. (2019) | |
| C2 hemisection (rats) | A combined chondroitinase ABC and intermittent hypoxia conditioning treatment | Led to a rapid and robust respiratory and motor recovery | Warren et al. (2018) | |
| T8 hemisection (rats) | Decreasing CSPGs and fibrotic scarring by microtube stabilization | Promoted axonal regeneration | Hellal et al. (2011) |