PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Fournier, Alyson E.
AU  - Takizawa, Bayan T.
AU  - Strittmatter, Stephen M.
TI  - Rho Kinase Inhibition Enhances Axonal Regeneration in the Injured CNS
AID  - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.23-04-01416.2003
DP  - 2003 Feb 15
TA  - The Journal of Neuroscience
PG  - 1416--1423
VI  - 23
IP  - 4
4099  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/23/4/1416.short
4100  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/23/4/1416.full
SO  - J. Neurosci.2003 Feb 15; 23
AB  - Myelin-associated inhibitors limit axonal regeneration in the injured brain and spinal cord. A common target of many neurite outgrowth inhibitors is the Rho family of small GTPases. Activation of Rho and a downstream effector of Rho, p160ROCK, inhibits neurite outgrowth. Here, we demonstrate that Rho is directly activated by the myelin-associated inhibitor Nogo-66. Using a binding assay to measure Rho activity, we detected increased levels of GTP Rho in PC12 and dorsal root ganglion (DRG) cell lysates after Nogo-66 stimulation. Rho activity levels were not affected by Amino–Nogo stimulation. Rho inactivation with C3 transferase promotes neurite outgrowth of chick DRG neurons in vitro, but with the delivery method used here, it fails to promote neurite outgrowth after corticospinal tract (CST) lesions in the adult rat. Inhibition of p160ROCK with Y-27632 also promotes neurite outgrowth on myelin-associated inhibitors in vitro. Furthermore, Y-27632 enhances sprouting of CST fibers in vivo and accelerates locomotor recovery after CST lesions in adult rats.