Gene Therapy Used to Help Mice Recover From Severed Spinal Cord

A recent study has found that by applying gene therapy they could restore mobility in mice with completely severed spinal cords. It was previously shown that nerve fibers could be regenerated across anatomically complete spinal cord injuries, but this did not restore motor function, as the new fibers failed to connect to the right places on the other side of the lesion. Analyses of mice with severed spines revealed that specific axons (thin fibers that connect neurons) needed to regenerate and reconnect to their natural positions to restore motor function. The team of researchers activated growth in these axons and regenerated nerve fibers, even through scar tissue, by promoting specific supporting proteins. With the help of guidance molecules, the regenerated nerve fibers are able to be directed in a way that restores the spine to a state similar to before the injury. The repairing process did not show full recovery after complete spinal severance, but the mice were as mobile as those with more minimal spinal injuries. This means with more medical developments full mobility restoration is not completely out of the question. In fact, it is hypothesized that multipronged gene therapy could restore spinal injuries more fully. However, one must keep in mind that research in animals does not always pan out in humans. Senior researcher, and co-head of NeuroRestore, Grégoire Courtine had this to say about the research: “We expect that our gene therapy will act synergistically with our other procedures involving electrical stimulation of the spinal cord. We believe a complete solution for treating spinal cord injury will require both approaches — gene therapy to regrow relevant nerve fibers, and spinal stimulation to maximize the ability of both these fibers and the spinal cord below the injury to produce movement." 

I find this research to be very promising for serious spinal injuries and partial spinal injuries alike. While having the ability to walk is an advantage to that of being wheelchair-bound, I also believe that if minor spinal injury recovery can be improved, researchers may be able to develop a therapy that would restore complete bodily autonomy. I also wonder what gene therapies may be capable of being developed to improve brain function for patients with neurons damaged in their heads. It seems the possibilities may be endless as long as funding for similar research continues, who knows how many lives could be saved with this research as a launch pad.

https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2023-09-27/in-mice-gene-therapy-helps-restore-movement-after-spinal-cord-injury

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adi6412

Attack of the Zombies!!!

Or I should say, attack of the wasps?

A ladybug being infected.

Parasitologist Nolwenn Dheilly at Stony Brook University in New York found a virus that actually turns ladybugs into a zombie by wasps.  Here's how it works:
The green-eyed wasp, Dinocampus coccinellae, lays its egg inside the ladybug (or various other beetles, but this is the most common). The larva eats the ladybug's internal organs for sustenance until it erupts from her abdomen after 3 weeks.  Then, it weaves a coccoon in between her legs and the ladybug turns into a zombie, warding off predators until the adult wasp emerges from the coocoon one week later. The ladybug is NOT zombified before the wasp emerges as a larva. Parasiologists and enthomologists wondered how this can even occur. Was it a toxin? Is it a mutation? Another parasite?  The answer may shock you.

A ladybug with a D.coccinellae cocoon.

Parasitologists, specifically Dheilly, found "unfamiliar viral RNA not present in healthy beetles."  Upon further study, a new species of Iflavirus (similar to the RNA virus that causes polio) was found and named DCPV (D. coccinellae paralysis virus). The wasp injects this virus into the ladybug when it is laying its egg into their abdomen. It then replicates rapidly but only moves to the brain right before the larva emerges from the egg (and the ladybug's abdomen). So far, they have not figured out why the virus is active in the brain at that point. One hypothesis is that the ladybug's immune system seems to be suppressed due to the wasp larva feeding off of her innards, and after the larva emerges as an adult, her brain returns to a normal function. The suppression may be a cause for her brain to not function appropriately, and once she is not being fed on, her brain can almost revive itself. This brain damage may be the cause of the zombie-like state that is timed right around when the wasp larva emerges from its egg. It is said that 25% o all infected ladybugs recover completely, some even become infected again!

While I do find this article extremely disturbing, I also find it quite amazing that animals have adapted over time to give them an upper-hand at evolution and survival. Many other animal species have parasitic components to their survival, but it's always a marvel to see a genetic evolution of a species to control brain function, even if it's not intentional! Perhaps now we can understand the real purpose of some species' existence, and how we can even attempt to reproduce those characteristics in modern science and medicine. What if there was a bioterroristic weapon that controlled the minds of people into doing what they wanted? What if governments were able to control your brain? One could only hope a success like this isn't used against us!

Original Article:Wasp virus turns ladybugs into zombie babysitters