RECOVERY OF VISUAL RESPONSE OF INJURED ADULT-RAT OPTIC NERVES TREATEDWITH TRANSGLUTAMINASE

Failure of axons of the central nervous system in adult mammals to reg enerate spontaneously after injury is attributed in part to inhibitory molecules associated with oligodendrocytes. Regeneration of central n ervous system axons in fish is correlated with the presence of a trans glutaminase. This enzyme dimerizes interleukin-2, and the product is c ytotoxic to oligodendrocytes in vitro. Application of this nerve-deriv ed transglutaminase to rat optic nerves, in which the injury had cause d the loss of visual evoked potential response to light, promoted the recovery of that response within 6 weeks after injury. Transmission el ectron microscopy analysis revealed the concomitant appearance of axon s in the distal stump of the optic nerve.