Ion Channels in Regulation of Neuronal Regenerative Activities
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Ion Channels in Regulation of Neuronal Regenerative Activities Dongdong Chen & Shan Ping Yu & Ling Wei
Received: 12 September 2013 / Revised: 18 December 2013 / Accepted: 20 December 2013 # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014
Abstract The regeneration of the nervous system is achieved by the regrowth of damaged neuronal axons, the restoration of damaged nerve cells, and the generation of new neurons to replace those that have been lost. In the central nervous system, the regenerative ability is limited by various factors including damaged oligodendrocytes that are essential for neuronal axon myelination, an emerging glial scar, and secondary injury in the surrounding areas. Stem cell transplantation therapy has been shown to be a promising approach to treat neurodegenerative diseases because of the regenerative capability of the stem cells that secrete neurotrophic factors and give rise to differentiated progeny. However, some issues of stem cell transplantation, such as survival, homing, and efficiency of neural differentiation after transplantation, still need to be improved. Ion channels allow for the exchange of ions between the intra- and extracellular spaces or between the cytoplasm and organelles. These ion channels maintain the ion homeostasis in the brain and play a key role in regulating the physiological function of the nervous system and allowing the processing of neuronal signals. In seeking a potential strategy to enhance the efficacy of stem cell therapy in neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, this review briefly summarizes the roles of ion channels in cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, chemotropic axon guidance of growth cones, and axon outgrowth after injury. Keywords Stroke . Neurogenesis . Proliferation . Migration . Ion channels D. Chen : S. P. Yu (*) : L. Wei Department of Anesthesiology, Emory University School of Medicine, 101 Woodruff Circle, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA e-mail: [email protected] L. Wei Department of Neurology, Emory University School of Medicine, 101 Woodruff Circle, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
Introduction Regeneration of the nervous system is achieved by the generation of new neurons, glia, axons, myelin, or synapses. However, in the central nervous system, the regenerative ability is very limited compared to the peripheral nervous system [1]. In the central nervous system, neuronal axons are myelinated by oligodendrocytes, which do not proliferate in response to injury and cannot be replaced after injury. Another barrier to neural regeneration is the extent of cell death that occurs in the central nervous system in response to injury not only in the directly damaged neurons but also in the neurons in the surrounding vicinity that undergo apoptosis [2–4]. Additionally, in response to injury, the pre-existing glial cells in a quiescent state can begin to activate and form a glial scar that serves as a physical barrier to axonal regeneration [5–7]. Increasing neuronal regeneration in the central nervous system is one of the current appr
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