Role of Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase in Glial Scar Formation After Spinal Cord Injury in Rats

The study aims to determine the expression of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) in the glial scar following spinal cord injury in the rat, and to explore its relationship with glial scar formation. A total of 120 Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: SCI only group (without TERT interference), TERT siRNA group (with TERT interference), and sham group. The TERT siRNA and SCI only groups received spinal cord injury induced by the modified Allen’s weight drop method. In the sham group, the vertebral plate was opened to expose the spinal cord, but no injury was modeled. Five rats from each group were sacrificed under anesthesia at days 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, 28, 42, and 56 after spinal cord injury. Specimens were removed for observation of glial scar formation using hematoxylin-eosin staining and immunofluorescence detection. mRNA and protein expressions of TERT and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were detected by reverse-transcription (RT)-PCR and western blotting, respectively. Hematoxylin-eosin staining showed evidence of gliosis and glial scarring in the spinal cord injury zone of the TERT siRNA and SCI only groups, but not in the sham group. Immunofluorescence detection showed a significant increase in GFAP expression at all time points after spinal cord injury in the SCI only group (81 %) compared with the TERT siRNA group (67 %) and sham group (2 %). In contrast, the expression of neurofilament protein 200 (NF-200) was gradually reduced and remained at a stable level until 28 days in the SCI only group. There were no NF-200-labeled cells in the spinal cord glial scar and cavity at day 56 after spinal cord injury. NF-200 expression at each time point was significantly lower in the SCI only group than the TERT siRNA group, while there was no change in the sham group. Western blotting showed that TERT and GFAP protein expressions changed dynamically and showed a linear relationship in the SCI only group (r = 0.765, P < 0.01), while there was no obvious linear relationship in the sham group (r = 0.208, P = 0.121). RT-PCR results showed a dynamic expression of TERT and GFAP mRNA in the SCI only group, exhibiting a linear relationship (r = 0.722, P < 0.01), while there was no linear relationship in the sham group (r = 0.206, P = 0.180). Our data indicate that TERT has a dynamic expression in the spinal cord glial scar, which positively correlates to GFAP expression, and may be important for promoting glial scar formation.