Chondroitinase ABC promotes axonal re-growth and behavior recovery in spinal cord injury

In spinal cord injury, the injury could trigger some inhibitory signal cascades to promote chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs), the structures of scar tissues, formation. CSPGs could limit axonal regeneration mainly through the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chain in the lesion site were suggested. We hypothesized that the digestion of CSPGs by chondroitinase ABC (ChABC) might decrease the inhibitory effects of limiting axonal re-growth after spinal cord injury. We compared the digesting products of CSPGs such as 2B6 by ChABC with the untreated control group and found no immunostaining of 2B6 in control group. The smaller size scars of ChABC-treatment were observed via CS-56, a type of CSPGs, 8 weeks after transection by immunohistochemistry. The inhibitory effects of CSPGs withdraw GAGs following ChABC-treatment would reduce, and immunopositive GAP-43 newly outgrown fibers were identified. In the animal trials, ChABC-treatment could improve motor function through BBB locomotor’s test and reduce limiting ability of scar tissues to promote axonal regeneration via changing the structure of CSPGs by immunohistochemistry with GAP-43.