Genetic protection from axon injury
Axons and their synapses distal to the site of an injury undergo rapid degeneration, but axons in the mutant C57BL/WldS mouse are protected by a mechanism that remains unclear. In December Nature Neuroscience Till Mack and colleagues from University of Cologne, Germany, identified the Wld gene and the mutant protein involved in protecting the nerve fibers of these mice from degeneration.Mack et al. found that the protection in C57BL/WldS mice is due to a Ube4b/Nmnat chimeric gene that encodes an
Nov 18, 2001
Axons and their synapses distal to the site of an injury undergo rapid degeneration, but axons in the mutant C57BL/
Mack
These results offer novel therapeutic possibilities through the use of the...