After Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) neurons and oligodendrocytes die near the lesion, while blood borne cells infiltrate the parenchyma and glial cells proliferate and migrate to create the glial scar, preventing the damage propagation. Among these glial cells, are the oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), whose proliferation is increased 5X at early timepoints after SCI. Here, we used two different approaches to target OPC proliferation in a clinically-relevant mouse model: 1. Retroviral gene delivery to promote the assembly of Ca²⁺ permeable or impermeable AMPA Receptors at the moment of injury; and 2. An inducible p57Kip2 transgenic mouse model, in which we overexpress cell cycle inhibitor p57Kip2 in OPCs after SCI. As a result, we have induced changes in proliferation, oligodendroglial and OPC population sizes, as well as locomotor recovery during the acute stage of the pathology.

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• Laboratory of Neuronal and Glial Physiology