SRA

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating clinical condition resulting in significant disabilities for affected individuals. Apart from local injury within the spinal cord, SCI patients develop a myriad of complications characterized by multi-organ dysfunction. Disorders, such as lung injury, cardiovascular disease, liver damage, kidney and urinary tract dysfunction, alterations in gut microbiome, neuropathic pain, depression and altered immune responses are common in SCI patients. Such whole body, systemic responses hinder the functional recovery and can be life-threatening in SCI population. Investigations of organ specific gene expression analyses can provide a better understanding of the injury response and identify molecular targets. Consequently, this can be used to develop treatment for SCI, promoting functional recovery and overall quality of life. Overall design: The effect of post-SCI activity on the liver transcriptome was explored with two different approaches. In the first approach, liver tissue was harvested from three groups of rats housed in cages of varying size at 11.5 weeks post-SCI. The experimental groups consisted of 1) T2 contusion injury in large cages, 2) T2 contusion injury in tiny cages, and 3) uninjured controls in standard cages. In the second approach, liver tissue was harvested from five groups of rats at 11.5 weeks post SCI. Experimental groups consisted of 1) T2 contusion injury 2) T2 contusion injury followed by swimming (SWIM), 3) T2 contusion injury followed by shallow water walking (SWW), 4) T2 transection injury, and 5) uninjured contols. In the second approach, all rats were housed in tiny cages. Each experimental group consists of 4-5 replicates.