Perforin affects regeneration in a mouse spinal cord injury model

TY - JOUR

T1 - Perforin affects regeneration in a mouse spinal cord injury model

AU - Jakovcevski, Igor

AU - Schachner, Melitta

PY - 2022/1

Y1 - 2022/1

N2 - MATERIALS AND METHODS: Locomotor outcomes in perforin-deficient (Pfp-/-) mice and wild-type littermate controls were measured after severe compression injury of the lower thoracic spinal cord up to six weeks after injury.RESULTS: According to both the Basso mouse scale score and single frame motion analysis, motor recovery of Pfp-/- mice was similar to wild-type controls. Interestingly, immunohistochemical analysis of cell types at six weeks after injury showed enhanced cholinergic reinnervation of spinal motor neurons caudal to the lesion site and neurofilament-positive structures at the injury site in Pfp-/- mice, whereas numbers of microglia/macrophages and astrocytes were decreased compared with controls.CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that, although, loss of perforin does not change the locomotor outcome after injury, it beneficially affects diverse cellular features, such as number of axons, cholinergic synapses, astrocytes and microglia/macrophages at or caudal to the lesion site. Perforin's ability to contribute to Rag2's influence on locomotion was observed in mice doubly deficient in perforin and Rag2 which recovered better than Rag2-/- or Pfp-/- mice, suggesting that natural killer cells can cooperate with T- and B-cells in spinal cord injury.

AB - MATERIALS AND METHODS: Locomotor outcomes in perforin-deficient (Pfp-/-) mice and wild-type littermate controls were measured after severe compression injury of the lower thoracic spinal cord up to six weeks after injury.RESULTS: According to both the Basso mouse scale score and single frame motion analysis, motor recovery of Pfp-/- mice was similar to wild-type controls. Interestingly, immunohistochemical analysis of cell types at six weeks after injury showed enhanced cholinergic reinnervation of spinal motor neurons caudal to the lesion site and neurofilament-positive structures at the injury site in Pfp-/- mice, whereas numbers of microglia/macrophages and astrocytes were decreased compared with controls.CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that, although, loss of perforin does not change the locomotor outcome after injury, it beneficially affects diverse cellular features, such as number of axons, cholinergic synapses, astrocytes and microglia/macrophages at or caudal to the lesion site. Perforin's ability to contribute to Rag2's influence on locomotion was observed in mice doubly deficient in perforin and Rag2 which recovered better than Rag2-/- or Pfp-/- mice, suggesting that natural killer cells can cooperate with T- and B-cells in spinal cord injury.

U2 - 10.1080/00207454.2020.1796662

DO - 10.1080/00207454.2020.1796662

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

C2 - 32672480

VL - 132

SP - 1

EP - 12

JO - INT J NEUROSCI

JF - INT J NEUROSCI

SN - 0020-7454

IS - 1

ER -