Decorin treatment of spinal cord injury

The scarring response after a penetrant central nervous system injury results from the interaction between invading leptominingeal/pericyte-derived fibroblasts and endogenous reactive astrocytes about the wound margin. Extracellular matrix and scar-derived axon growth inhibitory mole- cules fill the lesion site providing both a physical and chemical barrier to regenerating axons. Dec orin, a small leucine-rich chondroitin-dermatan sulphate proteoglycan expressed by neurons and astrocytes in the central nervous system, is both anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory and attenu- ates the formation and partial dissolution of established and chronic scars. Here, we discuss the potential of using Decorin to antagonise scarring in the central nervous system.

Dental pulp stem cells, a paracrine-mediated therapy for the retina

Author contributions： Mead B was responsible for study conception and design, collection and^or assembly of data, data analysis and interpretation and manuscript writing. Logan A participated in study conception and design, data analysis and interpretation and manuscript writing. Berry M was responsible for manuscript writing. Scheven BA was in charge of study conception and design, data analysis and interpretation and manuscript writing. Leadbeater W participated in study conception and design, data analysis and interpretation and manuscript writing. All authors approved the final version of this paper.

LINGO-1 and AMIGO3, potential therapeutic targets for neurological and dysmyelinating disorders？

Leucine rich repeat proteins have gained considerable interest as therapeutic targets due to their expression and biological activity within the central nervous system. LINGO-1 has received particular attention since it inhibits axonal regeneration after spinal cord injury in a Rho A dependent manner while inhibiting leucine rich repeat and immunoglobulin-like domain-containing protein 1（LINGO-1） disinhibits neuron outgrowth. Furthermore, LINGO-1 suppresses oligodendrocyte precursor cell maturation and myelin production. Inhibiting the action of LINGO-1 encourages remyelination both in vitro and in vivo. Accordingly, LINGO-1 antagonists show promise as therapies for demyelinating diseases. An analogous protein to LINGO-1, amphoterin-induced gene and open reading frame-3（AMIGO3）, exerts the same inhibitory effect on the axonal outgrowth of central nervous system neurons, as well as interacting with the same receptors as LINGO-1. However, AMIGO3 is upregulated more rapidly after spinal cord injury than LINGO-1. We speculate that AMIGO3 has a similar inhibitory effect on oligodendrocyte precursor cell maturation and myelin production as with axogenesis. Therefore, inhibiting AMIGO3 will likely encourage central nervous system axonal regeneration as well as the production of myelin from local oligodendrocyte precursor cell, thus providing a promising therapeutic target and an area for future investigation.

Decorin treatment for reversing trabecular meshwork fibrosis in open-angle glaucoma

In this perspective,we discuss the use of an anti-fibrotic agent Decorin to treat established fibrosis associated with glaucoma originally published by Hill et al.（2015）.Glaucoma describes a group of progressive optic neuropathies that have the potential to cause irreversible blindness.

A systematic review of objective burn scar measurements

Background:Problematic scarring remains a challenging aspect to address in the treatment of burns and can significantly affect the quality of life of the burn survivor.At present,there are few treatments available in the clinic to control adverse scarring,but experimental pharmacological anti-scarring strategies are now beginning to emerge.Their comparative success must be based on objective measurements of scarring,yet currently the clinical assessment of scars is not carried out systematically and is mostly based on subjective review of patients.However,several techniques and devices are being introduced that allow objective analysis of the burn scar.The aim of this article is to evaluate various objective measurement tools currently available and recommend a useful panel that is suitable for use in clinical trials of anti-scarring therapies.Methods:A systematic literature search was done using the Web of Science,PubMed and Cochrane databases.The identified devices were then classified and grouped according to the parameters they measured.The tools were then compared and assessed in terms of inter-and intra-rater reproducibility,ease of use and cost.Results:After duplicates were removed,5062 articles were obtained in the search.After further screening,157 articles which utilised objective burn scar measurement systems or tools were obtained.The scar measurement devices can be broadly classified into those measuring colour,metric variables,texture,biomechanical properties and pathophysiological disturbances.Conclusions:Objective scar measurement tools allow the accurate and reproducible evaluation of scars,which is important for both clinical and scientific use.However,studies to evaluate their relative performance and merits of these tools are scarce,and there remain factors,such as itch and pain,which cannot be measured objectively.On reviewing the available evidence,a panel of devices for objective scar measurement is recommended consisting of the 3D cameras(Eykona/Lifeviz/Vectra H1)for surface area and volume,DSM I colorimeter for colour,Dermascan high-frequency ultrasound for scar thickness and Cutometer for skin elasticity and pliability.