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Review
. 2025 Jul 26;26(15):7249.
doi: 10.3390/ijms26157249.

Spinal Cord Injury Remyelination: Pathways to Therapies

Julia K Kaniuk  1 , Divy Kumar  1 , Joshua Tennyson  1 , Kaitlyn L Hurka  1 , Alexander Margolis  1 , Andrei Bucaloiu  1 , Ashley Selner  2 , Christopher S Ahuja  2   3
Affiliations
Review

Spinal Cord Injury Remyelination: Pathways to Therapies

Julia K Kaniuk et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a debilitating condition that results from a culmination of acute and chronic damage to neural tissue, specifically the myelin sheath, thus impacting neurons' abilities to synergistically perform their physiological roles. This review explores the molecular underpinnings of myelination, demyelination, and remyelination, emphasizing the role of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs), astrocytes, and microglia in physiological, and pathophysiological, healing. Furthermore, we link these processes with emerging therapeutic strategies currently under investigation in animal and human models, underscoring areas of translational medicine that remain underutilized. The goal of this review is to provide a framework for developing more advanced interventions to restore function and improve outcomes for individuals with SCI.

Keywords: molecular changes; myelin repair; neuroinflammation; neuronal degeneration; neuroplasticity; neuroregeneration; remyelination; spinal cord injury; stem cell therapy; stem cells.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
CNS remyelination with stage-relevant molecular messengers. Molecular markers specific to OL maturation are shown in the rounded purple text bubbles. Created in BioRender. Ahuja, C. (2025) https://BioRender.com/fz2chtn (accessed on 8 June 2025).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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