RECOVERY AND REGENERATION AFTER SPINAL NEURON INJURY

该项目的长期目标是调查和 提供有关决定生存、再生和 脊髓和脊髓神经元损伤后功能的恢复。 拟议延续的中心主题是细胞和 脊椎动物脊髓或脊神经损伤引起的分子变化 与神经过程的再生有关， 功能 在概述的工作中，布利特的项目研究了以下可能性： 即早基因或特异性标记蛋白可以向神经元发出信号， 脊髓中的亚群代表了恢复的基础， 脊髓部分损伤后的感觉功能。 Farel的项目 解决了背根神经节（DRG）含有 未分化的神经元前体细胞，它们增加了 在正常发育过程中的功能性感觉神经元，并可能被诱导 分化以补偿由于神经损伤而造成的损失。 门德尔 该项目将神经元的出生和特异性问题纳入一个不同的 在测试假设的方向，特定的因素，如神经 生长因子（NGF）调节特定类型的分化。 背根神经节的感觉单位。 Perl的项目探索了这样一种可能性， 涉及内脏结构的神经病变可能由异常的 感觉轴突的反应性部分中断后， 传出神经支配 这些项目的整体涉及两个 临床相关主题：确定神经元特征如何 受伤害的影响，并探讨如何利用这些变化， 促进神经元损伤的恢复。

The long-term goals of this program project are to investigate and to provide new information on factors determining survival, regeneration and recovery of function of spinal cord and spinal nerve neurons after injury. The central theme of the proposed continuation is the cellular and molecular changes induced by vertebrate spinal cord or spinal nerve injury that are associated with regeneration of neuronal processes an recovery of function. In the work outlined, Bullitt's Project examines the possibility that immediate early genes or specific marker proteins can signal neuronal subpopulations in the spinal cord that represent the basis for recovery of sensory function after partial spinal cord injury. Farel's Project addresses the possibility that the dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) contain undifferentiated neuronal precursor cells that augment the complement of functional sensory neurons during normal development and may be induced to differentiate to compensate for losses due to neural injury. Mendell's project takes the issue of neuronal birth and specificity into a different direction in testing the hypothesis that particular factors such as nerve growth factor (NGF) regulate the differentiation of particular types of sensory units of the DRG. Perl's Project explores the possibility that neuropathies involving visceral structures may result from abnormal responsiveness of sensory axons consequent to partial interruption of efferent innervation. The ensemble of these projects attend to two clinically relevant themes: to determine how neuronal characteristics are affected by injury and to explore how these changes can be enlisted to facilitate recovery from neuronal injury.