# Glial cell responses promote spinal cord repair in zebrafish

> **NIH NIH R01** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $406,449

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Around 18,000 Americans suffer new spinal cord injuries (SCI) each year. Primary and secondary damages
caused by SCI permanently impair sensory and motor functions, which require long-term therapeutic,
rehabilitative, and psychological interventions. Thus, developing therapies to treat or reverse SCI is a pressing
need in regenerative medicine. In contrast to mammals, teleost fish naturally regenerate functional neural tissue
and reverse paralysis after complete spinal cord transection. Although innate spinal cord repair in zebrafish has
fascinated scientists for decades, the contribution of glial cells to this elevated regenerative capacity is vastly
understudied. Following SCI, adult zebrafish initiate a glial bridge that reconnects the severed spinal cord and
supports functional neural repair. Pro-regenerative glial bridging distinguishes the zebrafish spinal cord and
occurs without the detrimental outcomes of reactive gliosis elicited by the mammalian spinal cord. We propose
that zebrafish glia orchestrate a series of transient, pro-regenerative responses that enable spinal cord repair. In
this proposal, we will 1) determine the early injury responses that initiate glial bridging, 2) identify glial bridging
mechanisms that are specific to zebrafish bridging glia and absent in mammalian glia, and 3) uncover the cellular
and molecular mechanisms that direct glial bridge disassembly after regeneration is complete. This study will
provide a mechanistic understanding of glial cell biology during zebrafish spinal cord regeneration, and will guide
approaches for manipulating glial cells to promote spinal cord repair in mammals.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10446788
- **Project number:** 1R01NS123708-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Mayssa H. Mokalled
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $406,449
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-04-01 → 2027-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10446788

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10446788, Glial cell responses promote spinal cord repair in zebrafish (1R01NS123708-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10446788. Licensed CC0.

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