Abstract
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a common clinical disease that can cause permanent disruption of nerve function. Inflammation and glial scar formation influence the recovery of injured spinal cord. X-ray irradiation can reduce inflammation, inhibit cell proliferation and increase cell apoptosis. However, the regulatory effects of X-ray irradiation on inflammation and glial scars and the underlying molecular mechanisms are still unclear. This study was aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect and molecular mechanism of X-ray irradiation on spinal cord injury. Behavioural experiments showed that X-ray irradiation can promote the recovery of nerve function after SCI. X-ray irradiation inhibited the inflammatory response by reducing the expression of inflammatory factors (TNF-α and IL-1β) at the lesion site, thereby reducing neuronal apoptosis. X-ray irradiation inhibited the formation of the glial scar (GFAP and vimentin) in the lesion. P38MAPK and Akt signalling pathways were involved in these processes. Furthermore, the 10 Gy dose had the most significant effects among the 2 Gy, 10 Gy and 20 Gy doses. In summary, X-ray irradiation may exert an active therapeutic effect on SCI by inhibiting inflammation and glial scar formation, which may be related to the inhibition of p38MAPK and Akt signalling pathways.
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Data Availability
The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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This study was supported by the Planned Science and Technology Project of Soochow City, China (SDFEYGJ2005, SYSD2018074, 2017Q010).
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YW, DL and YS designed the research. YW, DL, FL and LC performed the research. YS, DL and PS provided the funding. YW, DL and YS analysed the data. YW and YS prepared the draft manuscript. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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These animal experiments were carried out in accordance with the US “Guidelines for the Management and Use of Laboratory Animals”, revised in 1996. These procedures were approved by the Ethics Committee of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University.
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Yi Wang and Yanping Niu contributed equally to this work.
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Wang, Y., Niu, Y., Lin, F. et al. X-ray Irradiation Improves Neurological Function Recovery of Injured Spinal Cord by Inhibiting Inflammation and Glial Scar Formation. J Mol Neurosci 72, 1008–1017 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12031-022-01975-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12031-022-01975-2