The human ApoE4 variant reduces functional recovery and neuronal sprouting after incomplete spinal injury in male mice

Patients carrying one or two ApoE4 alleles suffer from worse functional recovery after spinal cord injury. Using transgenic mice expression human ApoE3 or ApoE4 we investigated potential cellular mechanisms of reduced recovery after spinal cord injury. Bulk RNA sequencing of the spinal cord lesion site followed by pathway enrichment analysis predicts that ApoE4 mice have a higher inflammatory and extracellular matrix remodeling activity 7 days after spinal cord injury. Contrary, higher activities for neuronal projection and action potential patways were predicted in the ApoE3 mice at 21 days after injury. Examination of differentially expressed genes at the lesion site at 7 and 21 days after spinal cord injury between ApoE4 and ApoE3 mice