Lessons from the Lamprey on Spinal Cord Regeneration

Abstract

Unlike mammals, non‐mammalian vertebrates undergo robust, spontaneous regeneration of central nervous system (CNS) structures after injury. Lampreys, which are amongst the most basal vertebrates, provide a unique opportunity to study CNS regeneration at levels ranging from molecules to behavior. After a complete spinal cord transection, lampreys recover nearly normal locomotor behaviors (e.g. swimming, burrowing) over the next 10–12 weeks. This functional recovery is accomplished by robust tissue repair, axon/synapse regeneration, and transcriptional changes in the spinal cord and brain that support CNS repair and growth. Such growth programs are highly conserved across vertebrates, including in mammals. Additionally, lampreys possess a class of large, identified reticulospinal neurons with known regenerative capacities: some are “good regenerators,” while others are “poor regenerators,” allowing us to examine intrinsic factors that govern CNS regeneration on neuron‐by‐neuron basis. This presentation will discuss some of the latest findings in lamprey CNS regeneration, including new molecular strategies with potential for improving CNS regeneration outcomes in other preclinical animal models.Support or Funding InformationNY Spinal Cord Injury Research BoardMarine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MALamprey spinal cord at 11 weeks post‐injury. Many axons (green: neurofilament) are regenerating across the lesion, and the central canal that runs longitudinally down the center of the spinal cord is repaired (blue: DAPI). The original lesion site is in the middle of the image.Figure 1