SUMMARY A central hypothesis for the limited capacity for adult central nervous system (CNS) axons to regenerate is the presence of myelin-derived axon growth inhibitors, the role of which, however, remains poorly understood. We have conducted a comprehensive genetic analysis of the three major myelin inhibitors, Nogo, MAG and OMgp, in injury-induced axonal growth, including compensatory sprouting of uninjured axons and regeneration of injured axons. While deleting any one inhibitor in mice enhanced sprouting of corticospinal or raphespinal serotonergic axons, there was neither associated behavioral improvement nor a synergistic effect of deleting all three inhibitors. Furthermore, triple mutant mice failed to exhibit enhanced regeneration of either axonal tract after spinal cord injury. Our data indicate that while Nogo, MAG and OMgp may modulate axon sprouting, they do not play a central role in CNS axon regeneration failure.

Limited functional recovery can be achieved with rehabilitation after incomplete spinal cord injury. Eliminating the function of a repulsive Wnt receptor, Ryk, by either conditional knockout in the motor cortex or monoclonal antibody infusion, resulted in increased corticospinal axon collateral branches with pre-synaptic puncta in the spinal cord and enhanced recovery of forelimb reaching and grasping function following a cervical dorsal column lesion. Using optical stimulation, we observed that motor cortical output maps underwent massive changes after injury and the hindlimb cortical areas were recruited to control the forelimb over time. Furthermore, a greater cortical area was dedicated to control the forelimb in Ryk cKO. In the absence of weekly task-specific training, recruitment of ectopic cortical areas was greatly reduced without significant functional recovery even in Ryk cKO. Our study provides evidence that maximal circuit reorganization and functional recovery can be achieved by combining molecular manipulation and task-specific training.

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Studies show that limited functional recovery can be achieved by plasticity and adaptation of the remaining circuitry in partial injuries in the central nervous system, although the new circuits that arise in these contexts have not been clearly identified or characterized. We show here that synaptic contacts from dorsal root ganglions to a small number of dorsal column neurons, a caudal extension of nucleus gracilis, whose connections to the thalamus are spared in a precise cervical level 1 lesion, underwent remodeling over time. These connections support proprioceptive functional recovery in a conditioning lesion paradigm, as silencing or eliminating the remodelled circuit completely abolishes the recovered proprioceptive function of the hindlimb. Furthermore, we show that blocking repulsive Wnt signalling increases axon plasticity and synaptic connections that drive greater functional recovery.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive paralysis due to the selective death of motor neurons of unknown causes. Increasing evidence indicates that Wnt signaling is altered in ALS. In this study, we focused on two non-canonical Wnt signaling components, atypical PKC (aPKC) and a Wnt receptor, Ryk, in a mouse model of ALS, SOD1 (G93A). aPKC mediates Wnt signaling to regulate growth cone guidance, axon differentiation and cell survival. Ryk is a Wnt repulsive receptor that regulates axon guidance and inhibits regeneration after spinal cord injury. aPKC expression was increased in motor neurons of the lumbar spinal cord in SOD1 (G93A) mice at different stages. Interestingly, aPKC was colocalized with SOD1 in motor neuron cell bodies and extracellular aggregates, and aPKC-containing extracellular aggregates increased with disease progression. Biochemical fractionation showed that aPKC protein level was increased in the detergent-insoluble protein fraction in SOD1 (G93A) mice at late stage but decreased in the detergent-soluble fraction at symptomatic stage. These results suggest that aPKC may be sequestered in SOD1 aggregates, impairing its ability to protect motor neurons from death. Ryk expression was also increased in the motor neurons and the white matter in the ventral lumbar spinal cord of mutant SOD1 mice with a peak at early stage. These observations indicate that Wnt/aPKC and Wnt/Ryk signaling are altered in SOD1 (G93A) mice, suggesting that changed Wnt signaling may contribute to neurodegeneration in ALS.