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'Junk' RNA molecules help to regrow damaged nerves | The discovery could unlock new ways to treat nerve injuries and even restore growth in the brain and spinal cord.
Once dismissed as “junk,” a group of RNA molecules has been found to help regrow damaged nerves in mice in new research. The discovery could unlock new ways to treat nerve injuries and even restore growth in the brain and spinal cord.
“There are still no effective treatments to accelerate nerve cell growth and regeneration,” said the study’s corresponding author, Professor Mike Fainzilber, from Weizmann’s Departments of Biomolecular Sciences and Molecular Neurobiology. The researchers discovered that a special group of RNA molecules called growth-inducing Short Interspersed Nuclear Elements (GI-SINEs) play a key role in nerve growth following injury. When the researchers analyzed what happened after injury to parts of the central nervous system – retinal ganglion cells in the eye or the corticospinal tract in the spinal cord – they found that GI-SINEs weren’t naturally turned on.
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