Steroid effects on glial cells: detrimental or protective for spinal cord function

DE NICOLA A. F.; LABOMBARDA F; GONZALEZ SL; GONZALEZ DENISELLE, MC; GUENNOUN R; SCHUMACHER M

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

New York Academy of Sciences

Año: 2003 p. 317 - 328

1749-6632

Repair of damage and recovery of function are fundamental endeavors for recuperation of patients and experimental animals with spinal cord injury. Steroid hormones, such as progesterone, show regenerative and myelinating properties following injury of the peripheral and central nervous system. In this work, we studied progesterone effects on glial cells of the normal and transected (TRX) spinal cord, to complement previous studies in motoneurons. Both neurons and glial cells expressed the classical progesterone receptor (PR), suggesting mechanisms participated in progesterone action. In TRX rats, progesterone treatment stimulated the immunocytochemical staining for myelin basic protein (MBP) and the number of oligodendrocyte precursor cells expressing the chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan NG2 in TRX rats. In terms of beneficial or detrimental consequence, these progesterone effects may be supportive of neuronal recuperation, as shown for several neuronal functional parameters that were normalized by progesterone treatment of spinal cord injured animals. Thus, progesterone effects on glial cells go in parallel with morphological and biochemical evidence of survival of damaged motoneurons.