Therapeutic role of cell signalling pathways and immunomodulatory approaches for recovery of spinal cord injury in dogs and cats.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can lead to paralysis and other disorders in domestic animals, compromising welfare due to limited treatment techniques and their side effects. Modulating cell signalling pathways, such as the Wnt, BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor)-TrkB and JAK/STAT pathways, plays a potential role in more rapid recovery of spinal cord trauma with fewer side effects. The Wnt signalling pathway plays a critical role in neuronal regeneration and reduction of neuronal apoptosis. The BDNF-TrkB pathway stimulates recovery of spinal cord trauma by modulating synaptic plasticity and reducing inflammation. The JAK/STAT pathway promotes neurogenesis and modulates inflammation at the site of injury in order to regulate recovery from SCIs. These signalling pathways can be regulated by administration of various agonists or antagonists of the specific signalling pathways. The administration of CHIR99021, Wnt-3a and Wnt-5a plays a crucial role in rapid recovery of injury by activation of the Wnt signalling pathway, and BDNF hydrogel and BDNF mRNA are used clinically as agonists of the BDNF-TrkB pathway in SCIs. Furthermore, administration of tofacitinib may lead to microglial polarization, which improves recovery of SCI in domestic animals by upregulating the JAK/STAT pathway. Improving the infrastructure for animal studies may lead to a deeper understanding of the cell signalling pathways necessary for stem cell therapies in domestic animals.