Hyper-interleukin-6 against paralysis
Researchers from the Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, led by Professor Dietmar Fischer, have developed a new strategy that restored the ability of paralyzed mice to walk. The therapeutic effect is carried out by the designer protein hyper-interleukin-6, which stimulates the regeneration of nerve cells.
When the message is interrupted
Spinal cord injuries that occur during sports or as a result of road accidents often lead to irreversible disability. This is caused by damage to axons that carry information from the brain to the muscles and back to the brain. Since severed axons of the spinal cord cannot regrow, patients are left with paralysis and numbness for life. To date, there is no treatment that could restore the lost functions of the damaged spinal cord.
Designer protein stimulates regeneration
In search of potential therapeutic approaches, the research team developed the hyper-interleukin-6 (hIL-6) protein. This is a so-called designer cytokine, that is, it does not occur in nature and is obtained using genetic engineering. A previous study has already demonstrated the ability of hIL-6 to effectively stimulate the regeneration of nerve cells in the visual system.
In their current study, the team forced the nerve cells of the motor-sensitive cortex to produce hIL-6 themselves. To do this, viral vectors were used, which were injected into an accessible area of the brain. These viruses delivered the genes encoding hIL-6 to motor neurons. Since these cells are connected via appendages to nerve cells in other areas of the brain that are also important for walking and other motor processes, hIL-6 was transferred directly to these hard-to-reach but important nerve cells and released there in a controlled manner.
Gene therapy of only one group of nerve cells stimulated the regeneration of axons of various nerve cells in different parts of the brain and several motor tracts of the spinal cord simultaneously. As a result, this allowed previously paralyzed animals with complete paralysis of the lower extremities to start walking two to three weeks after treatment.
A paralyzed mouse before and two weeks after gene therapy.
The research team is currently investigating to what extent this or similar approaches can be combined with other treatments to further optimize the administration of hIL-6 and achieve additional functional improvements. They are also studying whether hIL-6 has a positive effect on mice with an old injury. This aspect is especially important for human use, and further experiments will show whether it is possible to transfer these new approaches to medical practice in the future.
Article by M.Leibinger et al. Transneuronal delivery of hyper-IL-6 enables functional recovery after severe spinal cord injury in mice is published in the journal Nature Communications.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on RUB materials: Designer cytokine makes paralyzed mice walk again.