Molecular and histologic outcomes following spinal cord injury in spiny mice, Acomys cahirinus

The spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus) appears to be unique among mammals by showing little scarring or fibrosis after skin or muscle injury, but the Acomys response to spinal cord injury (SCI) is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that Acomys would have molecular and immunohistochemical evidence of reduced spinal inflammation and fibrosis following SCI as compared to C57BL/6 mice (Mus), which similar to all mammals studied to date exhibits spinal scarring following SCI. Initial experiments used two pathway‐focused RT‐PCR gene arrays (“wound healing” and “neurogenesis”) to evaluate tissue samples from the C2–C6 spinal cord 3 days after a C3/C4 hemi‐crush injury (C3Hc). Based on the gene array results, specific genes were selected for RT‐qPCR evaluation using species‐specific primers. The results supported our hypothesis by showing increased inflammation and fibrosis related gene expression (Serpine 1, Plau, and Timp1) in Mus as compared to Acomys (p