miR-124a Promotes the Repair Motor Function of Spinal Cord Injury by Inhibiting Neuronal Apoptosis

ZHAO Shuaishuai^1,2, LIU Wenhan¹, MA Jiarui¹, SHEN Yuzhe^1,3, SUN Ruixin^1,4, LIANG Jiaxing^1,5, YANG Yanling^1*

(¹Yan’an Medical School of Yan’an University, Yan’an 716000, China; ²Department of Clinical Laboratory, Baoji Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Baoji 721000, China; ³Xi’an Medical University, Xi’an 710000, China; ⁴Rehabilitation Medicine Department, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Medical University, Xi’an 710000, China; ⁵School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Baoji Vocational and Technical College, Baoji 721000, China)

Abstract:

This study was designed to investigate the effect of miR-124a overexpression on neuronal apop tosis after spinal cord injury in rats. SD rats were randomly divided into four groups: sham group, SCI (spinal cord injury) group, SCI+AAV-NC group and SCI+AAV-miR-124a group. BBB score was used to evaluate the motor function of rats in each group. H&E staining, Tunel staining and immunofluorescence staining were used to observe the apoptosis of injured local cells. The expression levels of miR-124a, Bax, Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 were detected by Western blot and qRT-PCR. After spinal cord injury, the motor function of SCI rats was lost, a large number of spi nal cord neurons underwent apoptotic, causing serious damage to the spinal cord tissue. miR-124a levels increased briefly and then decreased continuously. The expression of Bax mRNA and protein increased, the expression of Bcl-2 mRNA and protein decreased, and the expression of Caspase-3 protein increased. The relative fluorescence intensity of NeuN and MBP decreased significantly, while the relative fluorescence intensity of GFAP and Iba 1 increased significantly overexpression of miR-124a reversed the aforementioned mRNA and protein expression levels, the relative fluorescence intensity of NeuN and MBP was significantly higher than that of SCI group, while GFAP and Iba 1 were significantly lower, reduced the apoptosis of spinal cord neurons, and gradually restored the motor function of rats. Overexpression of miR-124a can inhibit neuronal apoptosis, improve motor function in rats, and promote the repair of spinal cord injury.

CSTR: 32200.14.cjcb.2025.10.0004