Review of the application of CRISPR/Cas9 in Axon regeneration

Abstract. Neurological mechanistic or pathologic damage is often accompanied by neuronal loss. Although this loss is universally considered as irreversible, nervous system possessing a series of compensatory self-repair mechanisms after injury, one is axon regeneration. However, they are restricted by alterations in the microenvironment and multiple suppressors. Therefore, enhancing axonal regenerative capacity to improve plasticity after central nervous system injury has become a critical issue. Previous studies have shown high feasibility and application value of CRISPR/Cas9 in promoting neuronal axon regeneration. This article aims at evaluating the applicability and effectiveness of CRISPR/Cas9 and its derivative method, CRISPR activation system, when it comes to treating central nervous system injuries. Three main routes were reviewed here, including large-scale screening of related genes in vivo, promotion of endogenous neurotrophic factor expression and induction of reprogramming glial cells into neurons. Besides, considering the delay in protein knockdown with the Cas9 system and other shortcomings, its potential application such as improving the local microenvironment post-injury should not be neglected.