Select neurotrophins promote oligodendrocyte progenitor cell process outgrowth in the presence of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans

Axonal damage and the subsequent interruption of intact neuronal pathways in the spinal cord are largely responsible for the loss of motor function after injury. Further exacerbating this loss is the demyelination of neighboring uninjured axons. The post‐injury environment is hostile to repair, with inflammation, a high expression of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) around the glial scar, and myelin breakdown. Numerous studies have demonstrated that treatment with the enzyme chondroitinase ABC (cABC) creates a permissive environment around a spinal lesion that permits axonal regeneration. Neurotrophic factors like brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), neurotrophic factor‐3 (NT‐3), and ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) have been used to promote neuronal survival and stimulate axonal growth. CSPGs expressed near a lesion also inhibit migration and differentiation of endogenous oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) in the spinal cord, and cABC treatment can neutralize this inhibition. This study examined the neurotrophins commonly used to stimulate axonal regeneration after injury and their potential effects on OPCs cultured in the presence of CSPGs. The results reveal differential effects on OPCs, with BDNF and GDNF promoting process outgrowth and NT‐3 stimulating differentiation of OPCs, while CNTF appears to have no observable effect. This finding suggests that certain neurotrophic agents commonly utilized to stimulate axonal regeneration after a spinal injury may also have a beneficial effect on the endogenous oligodendroglial cells as well.