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Mechanisms of Axonal Damage and Repair after Central Nervous System Injury

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Abstract

Central nervous system (CNS) injury initiates spatial and temporal neurodegeneration. Under pathologic conditions, damaged glial cells cannot supply sufficient metabolites to neurons, leading to energy deficiency for neuronal axons. The widespread disruption of cellular membranes causes disturbed intracellular signaling via dysregulated ionic gradients in neurons. Although several deleterious cascades are activated during the acute phase of CNS injury, some compensatory responses may tend to promote axonal repair during the chronic/remodeling phase. Because it may not be easy to block all multifactorial neurodegenerative pathways after CNS injury, supporting or boosting endogenous regenerative mechanisms would be an important therapeutic approach for CNS diseases. In this mini-review, we briefly but broadly introduce basic mechanisms that trigger axonal degeneration and then discuss potential targets for promoting axonal regeneration after CNS injury.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neuroprotection Research Laboratory, Departments of Radiology and Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, MGH East 149-2401, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA

    Naohiro Egawa, Josephine Lok, Kazuo Washida & Ken Arai

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Josephine Lok

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  1. Naohiro Egawa
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  2. Josephine Lok
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  3. Kazuo Washida
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  4. Ken Arai
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Correspondence to Ken Arai.

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This study is supported by the National Institute of Health (JL and KA).

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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Egawa, N., Lok, J., Washida, K. et al. Mechanisms of Axonal Damage and Repair after Central Nervous System Injury. Transl. Stroke Res. 8, 14–21 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12975-016-0495-1

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