Posts Tagged ‘pten gene’
Groundbreaking Discovery; Researchers Regenerate Nerves Using PTEN Gene
Posted on April 22nd, 2011
Reeve Irvine Research Center in collaboration with Harvard University’s Associate Professor of Neurology, Zhigang He, have fundamentally changed the history of curing paralysis from spinal cord injury. Through a groundbreaking discovery involving the PTEN gene, researchers have regenerated nerves in the damaged spinal cord of mice responsible for movement and sensation in the body.
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Potential Spinal Cord Injury Treatments
Posted on August 24th, 2010
There have been several recent developments in the potential treatment of spinal cord injury. A group of researchers showed they were able to enhance the regeneration of nerve connections after spinal cord injury by deleting an enzyme called PTEN. The enzyme controls a molecular pathway called mTOR that is a key regulator of cell growth. During development, when nerve growth and connections occur, PTEN activity is low, allowing cell growth. When growth is completed, PTEN is turned on to inhibit cell growth. Controlled stimulation of cell growth is important for tissue regeneration. The scientists disabled PTEN in mice and were able to achieve nerve growth past a spinal cord lesion. The study published in Nature Neuroscience points to possible strategies to encourage a damaged spinal cord to sprout new neuron growth for repair.