Astrocytic heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein U facilitates scar formation after spinal cord injury

In this study, by a genome-wide RNA interference screen, we identified heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein U (Hnrnpu) as an endogenous key molecule in astrocyte activation. Inhibition of Hnrnpu in astrocytes impairs the formation of astrocytic glial scar, motor function recovery, and neuronal regeneration after spinal cord injury (SCI) in mice. Therefore, we then performed gene expression profiling analysis to evalute the function of HNRNPU in human astrocytes. Our findings uncover that modulation of endogenous astrocytic function through Hnrnpu would be a promising therapeutic avenue to restore neurological function after the injury. mRNA profiles of human astrocytes after transfected with either control or HNRNPU siRNA for 2 days.