Figure 6.

Kindlin-1 expression by DRG neurons promotes axon regeneration across DREZ and into spinal cord. A, More axons regenerate across the DREZ into the GFAP-expressing region in the kindlin-1 animals compared with control. Scale bar, 100 μm. B, C, Quantification of axon regeneration, showing that kindlin-1 enhances axon regeneration across DREZ (C) but not at the injury site (B). D–G, Axon regeneration into both the dorsal horn (E′) and dorsal column (F′) increases following kindlin-1 expression. The axons in the dorsal columns (F′) appear as dots in transverse section picture, which can be seen to be axons running in the caudo-rostral plane when focusing up and down. Scale bars: D, 500 μm; E′, F′, 100 μm. H, I, Quantification of behavioral results indicate a significant improvement in the recovery of thermal (H), but not pressure (I) sensation. Data are mean ± SEM and were analyzed with either Student's t test (B, C, G) or two-way ANOVA with post hoc Bonferroni's analysis (H, I). ***p < 0.001; **p < 0.01; *p < 0.05; n.s., not significant.