SPINAL CORD INJURY INDUCES A LONG-LASTING UPREGULATION OF INTERLEUKIN-1β IN ASTROCYTES AROUND THE CENTRAL CANAL

Under inflammatory conditions, interleukin-1 beta ( IL-1 beta) modulates neural stem cells at neurogenic niches. Here we show that spinal cord injury in rats increases IL-1 beta expression in astrocytes located around the spinal cord ependyma, a region that also holds a neurogenic potential. IL-1 beta increases from day 1 after lesion, reaches maximal levels between days 3 and 7, and declines from 14 days to low levels after 28 days. At the time of maximal expression, periependymal upregulation of IL-1 beta extends beyond 5 mm from the epicenter of the lesion both rostral and caudally. Since IL-1 beta controls proliferation and cell fate of neural stem/precursor cells, its modulation in periependymal astrocytes might create an appropriate environment for cell replacement after injury. (C) 2014 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.