image: Researchers have received €1.3m to investigate how zebrafish are able to repair and replace damaged nerve cells. The European team -- led by the University of Edinburgh -- hope their findings will reveal new therapies that could be tested in patients with neurodegenerative conditions, such as motor neuron disease and multiple sclerosis. Such treatments could also help people with certain types of paralysis. view more
Credit: University of Edinburgh
Brain scientists are using tropical fish to investigate how the spinal cord can be coaxed to repair itself after injury.
The European research team has received £1.1 million (€1.3m) to investigate how zebrafish are able to repair and replace damaged nerve cells.
Researchers will explore how these mechanisms can be triggered in other animals and human cells.
They hope their findings will reveal new therapies that could be tested in patients with neurodegenerative conditions, such as motor neuron disease and multiple sclerosis. Such treatments could also help people with certain types of paralysis.
The spinal cord carries vital connections between the brain and muscles called motor neurons, which are crucial for controlling movement of the body. Damage to these fragile nerve cells - either by injury or disease - is permanent and results in irreversible paralysis.
Zebrafish have the remarkable ability to repair injured connections and replace damaged motor neurons, enabling them to regain full movement within four weeks after injury.
They are also able to repair the specialised sheath that surrounds nerve cells - called myelin - which helps speed up the transmission of nerve impulses that control movement.
The team - coordinated by the University of Edinburgh - includes brain experts from the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm), University Hospital Dresden, DFG Centre for Regenerative Therapies Dresden, the Free University of Brussels (VUB) and the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Researchers are developing specialised microscope techniques to monitor the mechanisms of nerve cell repair in action.
They hope to identify the molecular signals that instruct stem cells in the zebrafish's spinal cord to produce new motor neurons and stimulate repair of the myelin sheath.
These factors will then be examined in further animal studies and laboratory tests on human cells.
At the end of the three-year study, the researchers hope to identify potential therapies that can be taken forward into clinical trials involving patients with neurodegenerative diseases.
The study is funded by the European Commission through the European Research Area Network for Neuroscience Research (ERA-NET NEURON) and co-funded through national funding agencies.
Lead researcher Professor Catherina Becker, Director of the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Neuroregeneration, said: "This exciting project brings together leading experts from across Europe to explore the intrinsic capacity of the spinal cord to repair itself. We hope this will eventually lead to urgently needed therapies for people who have damage to their spinal cord, either from disease or injury."
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