"The strategy was to use a simple, one-time injection of an enzyme,
chondroitinase, that breaks down the inhibitory proteoglycan molecules," says senior author Jerry Silver, PhD, professor of neurosciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
The gene therapy causes cells to produce an enzyme called
chondroitinase which can break down the scar tissue and allow networks of nerve cells to regenerate.
When PNNs are enzymatically degraded with
chondroitinase ABC in the PFC, GABAergic cell firing decreases [16] and pyramidal cell firing increases [17], providing evidence that PNNs play a key role in maintaining local inhibition.
Besides hyaluronidase, other high-molecular-weight enzymes, namely, heparinase and
chondroitinase, are reported to decrease ESL thickness and charge density with subsequent increment in albumin clearance [2830].
Chondroitinase ABC (ChABC) decomposes chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans in the glial scar that forms following SCI, allowing stem cells to penetrate through the scar and promote recovery of nerve function.
Rather than measuring chondroitin content indirectly by observing how it reacted with another chemical, this method measured it directly by using an enzyme called
chondroitinase ACII to break it into smaller pieces that could then be individually measured using chromatography with UV detection.
The majority of developmental work performed in pharmacologic vitreolysis and vitreodynamics involves enzymes including hyaluronidase,
chondroitinase, tissue plasminogen activator, dispase, urokinase and plasmin.
The extract is treated for 2 h with
chondroitinase B followed by addition of disaccharide internal standard, boiling, and centrifugation.
Building on a technique developed by her colleagues at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Warren injected an enzyme called
chondroitinase ABC into the rats' spinal cords to clear out scar tissue a year and a half after the injury.