Fibrotic Scar After Spinal Cord Injury: Crosstalk With Other Cells, Cellular Origin, Function, and Mechanism

Ziyu Li; Shuisheng Yu; Xuyang Hu; Yiteng Li; Xingyu You; Dasheng Tian; Li Cheng; Meige Zheng; Juehua Jing

doi:10.3389/fncel.2021.720938

Fibrotic Scar After Spinal Cord Injury: Crosstalk With Other Cells, Cellular Origin, Function, and Mechanism

Front Cell Neurosci. 2021 Aug 26:15:720938. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2021.720938. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Ziyu Li¹, Shuisheng Yu¹, Xuyang Hu¹, Yiteng Li¹, Xingyu You¹, Dasheng Tian¹, Li Cheng¹, Meige Zheng¹, Juehua Jing¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Orthopaedics, The Second Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.

Abstract

The failure of axonal regeneration after spinal cord injury (SCI) results in permanent loss of sensorimotor function. The persistent presence of scar tissue, mainly fibrotic scar and astrocytic scar, is a critical cause of axonal regeneration failure and is widely accepted as a treatment target for SCI. Astrocytic scar has been widely investigated, while fibrotic scar has received less attention. Here, we review recent advances in fibrotic scar formation and its crosstalk with other main cellular components in the injured core after SCI, as well as its cellular origin, function, and mechanism. This study is expected to provide an important basis and novel insights into fibrotic scar as a treatment target for SCI.

Keywords: cellular origin; crosstalk; fibrotic scar; spinal cord injury; treatment strategy.

Publication types

Review