# The Role of a Pair of MAP3Ks in the Multicellular Response to Spinal Cord Injury

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2022 · $43,989

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
After spinal cord injury, a plethora of cellular responses impact functional recovery. Neurons may be preserved
or undergo cell death, axon degeneration and/or regenerative attempt. Astrocytes may become hypertrophic,
seal off the injury epicenter and influence axonal response in complex ways. Other cell types such as
fibroblasts/pericytes, microglia, macrophages also play important roles. Understanding how different cell types
respond to injury, how their responses are regulated and how they contribute to functional recovery is critical
for developing therapeutic intervention to promote functional repair after spinal cord injury. Regeneration is
axonal growth from injured neurons and sprouting is axonal growth from uninjured neurons. Both may
contribute to functional recovery. DLK and LZK are mammalian homologues of invertebrate DLK that has been
shown to play important roles in axon regeneration in C. elegans and Drosophila. The role of mammalian DLK
and LZK in spinal cord repair was not known. Supported by this parent R01, our lab found a role for LZK in
astrocyte response, and have now identified neuronal roles for DLK and LZK in axonal repair. This supplement
aims to support a graduate student from an underrepresented background, who is asking the important
questions on the context-dependent roles of DLK and LZK in neuronal response to injury. Specifically, the
trainee will use an injury model where significant cell death occurs to interrogate whether the same sinaling
pathway can influence both axon regeneration and cell death under different injury paradigms on the same
neuronal type. Transcriptional profiling on DLK/LZK manipulated neurons will then identify potential
downstream effectors of the signaling pathway. Together, these experiments offer great training potential for
the student, and complements the existing experiments proposed in the parent R01 while remaining within the
overall goal of the original application. Insights from the proposed study will pave the way for therapeutic
development targeting these molecules to promote repair and recovery after spinal cord injury.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10527004
- **Project number:** 3R01NS093055-07S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Binhai Zheng
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $43,989
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2022-01-01 → 2023-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10527004

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10527004, The Role of a Pair of MAP3Ks in the Multicellular Response to Spinal Cord Injury (3R01NS093055-07S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10527004. Licensed CC0.

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