Injury to axon can stop neuron growth, says new study
Injury to axon can stop neuron growth, says new study
Last Updated: Tue, Dec 15th, 2020, 08:14:02hrs
California [US], December 15 (ANI): A recent study led by researchers from the University of California - San Diego, has claimed that injury to axons can lead to severe neurodegenerative conditions and also suggested ways to protect it for encouraging neuron growth.
A paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), has discovered the injury to that axons- the long, slender projections that conduct electrical impulses from one nerve cell to another, facilitating cellular communications often leads to many neurodegenerative conditions like glaucoma and Alzheimer.
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IMAGE: Example of retinal ganglion cells with axons and dendrites in the retina of a healthy eye. view more
Credit: UC San Diego Health Sciences
Many neurodegenerative conditions, from glaucoma to Alzheimer s disease, are characterized by injury to axons the long, slender projections that conduct electrical impulses from one nerve cell to another, facilitating cellular communications. Injury to axons often leads to neuronal impairment and cell death.
Researchers know that inhibiting an enzyme called dual leucine zipper kinase (DLK) appears to robustly protect neurons in a wide range of neurodegenerative diseases models, but DLK also inhibits axonal regeneration. Until now, there have been no effective methods to modify genes to improve both the long-term survival of neurons and promote regeneration.