Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Spinal cord injury can be a devastating and life changing event. After a traumatic event in the spinal cord, the body's immune system becomes mobilised, and specialised cells begin clear up dead and scared tissue. This inflammatory immune response is essential to this healing process; however, if it is too aggressive, or not switched off at the right time, immune cells can end up damaging, and sometimes removing, healthy tissue. The process is primarily performed by one of the immune system's front line cells, the macrophage (which means 'big eater'). Macrophages phagocytose (devour) unwanted tissue and can either come from the blood or a central nervous system resident immune cell called microglia. The specific roles of blood borne and resident microglia after spinal cord injury, up to now, have been difficult to study, as these types of cell, when clearing damaged tissue, are indistinguishable from one another other.However, we now have an exciting new tool that causes macrophages from the blood (and not resident microglia) to glow green, allowing us to investigate their precise role in spinal cord injury. Once we learn more about the macrophage and microglial contribution after injury, we may be able to help activate or deactivate them where necessary, helping to reduce damage after spinal cord trauma.