Different subsets of V2a propriospinal neurons respond differently to spinal cord injury

Abstract

While propriospinal neurons play a crucial role in recovering function post-spinal cord injury, it remains unclear whether these neurons exhibit largely similar responses to injury or if their diversity requires distinct alterations in gene expression. Here, we focused on one population of spinal neurons, the V2a class, previously shown to be important for recovery of locomotor and respiratory function after spinal cord injury. Using single nuclei gene expression analyses, we delineate substantial molecular and cellular heterogeneity of V2a propriospinal neurons subtypes in adult mice and examine how individual subtypes are altered by injury. Remarkably, a subset of V2a neurons expressing Rbms3+/Nav3+ and enriched for synaptic transmission and axon guidance molecules were found to be nearly absent following injury. The remaining V2a populations exhibited distinctive transcriptional alterations, indicating a potential rewiring of cellular interactions within the spinal cord microenvironment. Thus, our study reveals the diverse responses of propriospinal neurons to injury. These analyses provide a foundation for understanding changes in propriospinal neurons that may lead to adaptive (or maladaptive) changes in circuit function following injury. NIH R01 NS112255 (PI:Crone) Spinal Circuitry for Ventilatory Control and Compensation Craig H. Neilsen Foundation- Spinal Cord Injury Research on the Translational Spectrum (PI: Crone) Targeting propriospinal neurons to improve breathing following injury. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.