Abscisic Acid Regulates Immune-inflammatory Responses to Induce Neuroprotection in Spinal Cord Injury: Insights from Gene Expression and Network Analysis

Spinal cord injuries (SCI) lead to complex primary and secondary damage that disrupts neural function. Current treatments are often insufficient and unable to fully repair spinal cord injuries, highlighting the urgent need for new medicines and innovative therapies. This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of abscisic acid (ABA) in SCI by examining its effects on immune-inflammatory genes' expression in rats. This phytohormone possesses anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties, rendering it a potential agent for reducing secondary damage following spinal cord injury. Additionally, we performed protein-protein interaction (PPI), pathway enrichment, functional annotation, and gene ontology (GO) analyses to gain a comprehensive understanding of the functions of the affected genes. Based on the results, SCI led to changes in the expression of immune/inflammation-related genes in rats. However, the administration of ABA alleviated the effects. ABA downregulated proinflammatory genes (IL-6, IL-1β, MCP, TLR2, TLR4) and neural signaling components (NMDA, AMPA, NK1R), while upregulating adrenergic receptors (ADRA1A, ADRB1) and a gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor (AGBRA2). PPI analysis identified FOS, IL-1β, IL-6, MMP9, and TLR4 as crucial nodes in the network, exhibiting the highest degree of interaction. Functional analyses revealed potential impacts on cellular responses, metabolic processes, and synapse-associated extracellular matrix components. Notably, these genes were enriched in inflammatory signaling pathways according to KEGG analysis. These findings suggest that ABA has a significant modulatory effect on gene expression following SCI, particularly in reducing inflammation and immune responses, thereby highlighting its potential as a novel therapeutic agent for SCI.