Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

TitleSpatio-temporal and transcriptional profiling of monocyte-derived macrophages in spinal cord injuryLay TitleUnderstanding how and when specific immune cells affect spinal cord injuryLay AbstractSpinal cord injury (SCI) is a life-altering condition caused by damage to the spinal cord, often caused by car accidents, falls, or violence. The immune system response to SCI has been well-characterized. Although the immune system is thought to support SCI recovery, it can often become overactivated and cause even greater damage, known as secondary injury. It is hypothesized that some of this secondary injury can be attributed to monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs), which are a specific type of immune cell. Previous research has shown that most MDMs in the spinal cord after injury migrated there from the spleen. However, removing the spleen doesnt change SCI recovery, but removing all the MDMs improves recovery. This indicates that there is a population of MDMs outside of the spleen that are generating the majority of the secondary injury. We hypothesize that these harmful MDMs are migrating to the spinal cord from the small intestine. To test this hypothesis, we are going to use a mouse model with photoconvertible cells. This means all the cells in the body express a green protein that can be changed to red when exposed to a violet laser. We will shine the laser on the small intestine and then perform a spinal cord injury using a standardized impactor. Since the laser will only convert the intestinal cells, we will know that any red cells found in the spinal cord migrated there from the intestine. We will duplicate this process in the spleen and liver to measure the degree of MDM migration from each tissue type.