A zebrafish drug screening platform boosts the discovery of novel therapeutics for spinal cord injury in mammals

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a complex condition, with limited therapeutic options, that results in sensory and motor disabilities. To boost discovery of novel therapeutics, we designed a simple and efficient drug screening platform. This innovative approach allows to determine locomotor rescue properties of small molecules in a zebrafish (Danio rerio) larval spinal cord transection model. We validated our screening platform by showing that Riluzole and Minocycline, two molecules that are in clinical trials for SCI, promote rescue of the locomotor function of the transected larvae. Further validation of the platform was obtained through the blind identification of D-Cycloserine, a molecule scheduled to enter phase IV clinical trials for SCI. Importantly, we identified Tranexamic acid and further showed that this molecule maintains its locomotor recovery properties in a rodent female contusion model. Our screening platform, combined with drug repurposing, promises to propel the rapid translation of novel therapeutics to improve SCI recovery in humans.