查看更多>>摘要:Nerve regeneration in adult mammalian spinal cord is poor because of the lack of intrinsic regeneration of neurons and extrinsic factors-the glial scar is triggered by injury and inhibits or promotes regeneration.Recent tech-nological advances in spatial transcriptomics(ST)provide a unique opportunity to decipher most genes systematically throughout scar formation,which remains poorly under-stood.Here,we first constructed the tissue-wide gene expres-sion patterns of mouse spinal cords over the course of scar formation using ST after spinal cord injury from 32 sam-ples.Locally,we profiled gene expression gradients from the leading edge to the core of the scar areas to further under-stand the scar microenvironment,such as neurotransmitter disorders,activation of the pro-inflammatory response,neu-rotoxic saturated lipids,angiogenesis,obstructed axon exten-sion,and extracellular structure re-organization.In addi-tion,we described 21 cell transcriptional states during scar formation and delineated the origins,functional diversity,and possible trajectories of subpopulations of fibroblasts,glia,and immune cells.Specifically,we found some regu-lators in special cell types,such as Thbs1 and Colla2 in macrophages,CD36 and Postn in fibroblasts,Plxnb2 and Nxpe3 in microglia,Clu in astrocytes,and CD74 in oligo-dendrocytes.Furthermore,salvianolic acid B,a blood-brain barrier permeation and CD36 inhibitor,was administered after surgery and found to remedy fibrosis.Subsequently,we described the extent of the scar boundary and profiled the bidirectional ligand-receptor interactions at the neighboring cluster boundary,contributing to maintain scar architecture during gliosis and fibrosis,and found that GPR37L1_PSAP,and GPR37_PSAP were the most significant gene-pairs among microglia,fibroblasts,and astrocytes.Last,we quan-tified the fraction of scar-resident cells and proposed four possible phases of scar formation:macrophage infiltration,proliferation and differentiation of scar-resident cells,scar emergence,and scar stationary.Together,these profiles delineated the spatial heterogeneity of the scar,confirmed the previous concepts about scar architecture,provided some new clues for scar formation,and served as a valuable resource for the treatment of central nervous system injury.