Studies have shown that serum response factor is beneficial for axonal regeneration of peripheral nerves. However, its role after central nervous system injury remains unclear. In this study, we established a rat model of T9–T10 spinal cord transection injury. We found that the expression of serum response factor in injured spinal cord gray matter neurons gradually increased with time, reached its peak on the 7^th day, and then gradually decreased. To investigate the role of serum response factor, we used lentivirus vectors to overexpress and silence serum response factor in spinal cord tissue. We found that overexpression of serum response factor promoted motor function recovery in rats with spinal cord injury. Qualitative observation of biotinylated dextran amine anterograde tracing showed that overexpression of serum response factor increased nerve fibers in the injured spinal cord. Additionally, transmission electron microscopy showed that axon and myelin sheath morphology was restored. Silencing serum response factor had the opposite effects of overexpression. These findings suggest that serum response factor plays a role in the recovery of motor function after spinal cord injury. The underlying mechanism may be related to the regulation of axonal regeneration.

研究表明，血清反应因子有利于周围神经的轴突再生。然而，其在中枢神经系统损伤后的作用仍不清楚。在本研究中，我们建立了大鼠 T9–T10脊髓横断损伤模型。我们发现损伤的脊髓灰质神经元血清反应因子的表达随时间逐渐升高，在第7^{日达到高峰}天，然后逐渐减少。为了研究血清反应因子的作用，我们使用慢病毒载体在脊髓组织中过表达和沉默血清反应因子。我们发现血清反应因子的过度表达促进了脊髓损伤大鼠的运动功能恢复。生物素化葡聚糖胺顺行示踪的定性观察表明，血清反应因子的过度表达增加了损伤脊髓中的神经纤维。此外，透射电子显微镜显示轴突和髓鞘形态得到恢复。沉默血清反应因子具有与过表达相反的作用。这些发现表明，血清反应因子在脊髓损伤后运动功能的恢复中发挥作用。