Astrocytic scar formation is generally considered to be a major barrier to axon regeneration in the injured CNS; however, a new report published in Nature presents several lines of evidence that the scar actually promotes axon growth. In a mouse model of spinal cord injury, prevention of astrocytic scar formation or ablation of an existing scar led to attenuation of axon regrowth across the lesion. In addition, scar-forming astrocytes were shown to express the chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans CSPG3 and CSPG4, which support axon growth.
References
Anderson, M. A. et al. Astrocyte scar formation aids central nervous system axon regeneration. Nature 532, 195–200 (2016)
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Wood, H. The astrocytic scar facilitates axon regeneration in the CNS, contrary to accepted wisdom. Nat Rev Neurol 12, 313 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2016.60
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2016.60
