Study reveals how nervous system activates repair after spinal cord injury

Specific DNA sequences control how cells in the nervous system respond to spinal cord injury, a study has found, potentially enabling more targeted treatments.

When the central nervous system is damaged, many cells become reactive, changing their function and activating genes that protect and repair tissue.

How this process is regulated has been unclear.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have mapped thousands of enhancers, small DNA sequences that act like switches for genes, turning them on or boosting their activity.

By analysing individual cell nuclei from mice with spinal cord injuries using artificial intelligence models, the researchers found these genetic switches activate after injury and instruct specific cell types to respond.

The main cells affected were glial cells such as astrocytes and ependymal cells, which are support cells that help protect and repair the nervous system.

Enric Llorens-Bobadilla, researcher at the department of cell and molecular biology at Karolinska Institutet, said: “We have shown how cells read these instructions through a code that tells them how to react to injury. This code combines signals from general stress factors with the cell’s own identity.”

Margherita Zamboni, researcher at the same department and first author of the study, said: “This opens up the possibility of using the code to target treatments specifically to the cells affected by the injury.”

The study is a collaboration between researchers at Karolinska Institutet and SciLifeLab, supported by the European Research Council, the Swedish Research Council and the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research.

Some researchers reported consultancy roles and patent applications related to the technology.