Portrait of glial scar in neurological diseases

Abstract

Fibrosis is formed after injury in most of the organs as a common and complex response that profoundly affects regeneration of damaged tissue. In central nervous system (CNS), glial scar grows as a major physical and chemical barrier against regeneration of neurons as it forms dense isolation and creates an inhibitory environment, resulting in limitation of optimal neural function and permanent deficits of human body. In neurological damages, glial scar is mainly attributed to the activation of resident astrocytes which surrounds the lesion core and walls off intact neurons. Glial cells induce the infiltration of immune cells, resulting in transient increase in extracellular matrix deposition and inflammatory factors which inhibit axonal regeneration, impede functional recovery, and may contribute to the occurrence of neurological complications. However, recent studies have underscored the importance of glial scar in neural protection and functional improvement depending on the specific insults which involves various pivotal molecules and signaling. Thus, to uncover the veil of scar formation in CNS may provide rewarding therapeutic targets to CNS diseases such as chronic neuroinflammation, brain stroke, spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic brain injury (TBI), brain tumor, and epileptogenesis. In this article, we try to describe the new portrait of glial scar and trending of research in neurological diseases to readers.