Immunomodulatory Therapy for Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract

SCI is a devastating pathology which has a significant impact on life expectancy and quality, and also bears considerable economic burden. Despite considerable progress in palliative care, there is currently no therapeutic intervention available which leads to functional recovery. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new strategies and therapies. Inflammatory responses are a major component of the secondary injury phase and play a key role in regulating the pathogenesis of acute and chronic SCI. However, the continual and dual role of the neuroinflammatory response leaves it difficult to decide upon a single modulatory strategy. Additionally, the role of certain immunomodulatory cytokines which are up- or down-regulated in response to SCI still remains unclear. In this thesis, we focus on the type-2 cytokines: IL-25 and IL-13 and investigate their therapeutic potential for treatment of SCI. Understanding the interaction of these factors with the surrounding microenvironment and exploiting their modulatory effects on cells such as microglia and macrophages, may provide a vital therapeutic tool in developing strategies for treating CNS trauma.