Models and approaches to comprehend and address glial inflammation following spinal cord injury
Vaibhav Patil, Raghvendra A. Bohara, Vijaya Krishna Kanala, Siobhán S. McMahon, Abhay Pandit
Abstract
Spinal cord injury (SCI) culminates in chronic inflammation and glial scar formation driven by the activation of microglia and astrocytes. Current anti-inflammatory strategies to treat glial activation associated with SCI have several limitations. Existing in vitro and ex vivo models studying molecular mechanisms associated with inflammation focus only on the acute phase. However, the progression of glial cell-derived inflammation over the acute-to-chronic phases has not been assessed. Understanding this progression will help establish a framework for evaluating therapeutic strategies. Additionally, new models could be useful as high-throughput screening (HTS) platforms. This review aims to highlight currently available models and future methods that could facilitate screening of novel therapeutics for SCI. Teaser: There is a need for a reformation of existing anti-inflammatory strategies, models, approaches, and drug screening platforms to enable efficient screening of innovative therapeutics for the treatment of spinal cord injury.