RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Nogo-A-Deficient Mice Reveal Strain-Dependent Differences in Axonal Regeneration JF The Journal of Neuroscience JO J. Neurosci. FD Society for Neuroscience SP 5591 OP 5603 DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1103-06.2006 VO 26 IS 21 A1 Leda Dimou A1 Lisa Schnell A1 Laura Montani A1 Carri Duncan A1 Marjo Simonen A1 Regula Schneider A1 Thomas Liebscher A1 Miriam Gullo A1 Martin E. Schwab YR 2006 UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/26/21/5591.abstract AB Nogo-A, a membrane protein enriched in myelin of the adult CNS, inhibits neurite growth and regeneration; neutralizing antibodies or receptor blockers enhance regeneration and plasticity in the injured adult CNS and lead to improved functional outcome. Here we show that Nogo-A-specific knock-outs in backcrossed 129X1/SvJ and C57BL/6 mice display enhanced regeneration of the corticospinal tract after injury. Surprisingly, 129X1/SvJ Nogo-A knock-out mice had two to four times more regenerating fibers than C57BL/6 Nogo-A knock-out mice. Wild-type newborn 129X1/SvJ dorsal root ganglia in vitro grew a much higher number of processes in 3 d than C57BL/6 ganglia, confirming the stronger endogenous neurite growth potential of the 129X1/SvJ strain. cDNA microarrays of the intact and lesioned spinal cord of wild-type as well as Nogo-A knock-out animals showed a number of genes to be differentially expressed in the two mouse strains; many of them belong to functional categories associated with neurite growth, synapse formation, and inflammation/immune responses. These results show that neurite regeneration in vivo, under the permissive condition of Nogo-A deletion, and neurite outgrowth in vitro differ significantly in two widely used mouse strains and that Nogo-A is an important endogenous inhibitor of axonal regeneration in the adult spinal cord.