The collagenous lesion scar - an obstacle for axonal regeneration in brain and spinal cord injury

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Hermanns, Susanne | Klapka, Nicole | Müller, Hans Werner

Affiliations: Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, Department of Neurology, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Moorenstr. 5, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany

Note: [] Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 211 81 18410; Fax: +49 211 81 18411; E-mail: hanswerner.mueller@uni-duesseldorf.de

Abstract: After CNS trauma a sheet-like, collagen type IV (Coll IV) immunopositive basement membrane (BM) develops in the lesion zone as well as at newly formed blood vessels. The basic scaffold of this BM is composed of Coll IV, laminin and nidogen but numerous other proteins some of which are discussed to be inhibitory for axonal regeneration, i.e. chondroitin- and heparansufate-proteoglycans, are associated with BM. This review will focus on the collagenous wound healing scar, discuss its composition and summarize the experimental results that demonstrate its role in the failure of axonal regeneration in the injured mammalian CNS.

Keywords: basement membrane, glial scar, CNS trauma, collagen IV, extracellular matrix,

Journal: Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, vol. 19, no. 1-2, pp. 139-148, 2001