REVIEW article

Front. Cell. Neurosci.

Sec. Cellular Neuropathology

Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fncel.2025.1590493

The role of oxidative stress in Spinal cord ischemia reperfusion injury: Mechanisms and therapeutic implications

Provisionally accepted
Zhao  KaiZhao Kai*Yuan-zhang  XiaoYuan-zhang XiaoMin  ZhaoMin ZhaoJiang-jun  zhouJiang-jun zhouYu  xingYu xingChunlin  xiaoChunlin xiao*
  • First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion injury (SCIRI) is a serious disease that leads to the loss of sensory and motor functions and is a common complication after spinal cord injury, spinal cord degeneration or thoracic and abdominal aortic surgery. At present, the spinal cord is mainly protected from ischemic injury through treatment strategies such as hypothermia, surgery and drug assistance, but these intervention measures cannot effectively improve these conditions. SCIRI is a complex process that leads to cell damage and death. Among them, oxidative stress is an important pathological event of ischemia/reperfusion injury. Oxidative stress can initiate multiple inflammatory and apoptotic pathways, triggering a series of destructive events such as inflammatory responses and cell death, further deteriorating the microenvironment at the injured site, and leading to neurological dysfunction. Based on the important role of oxidative stress in SCIRI, we believe that targeted inhibition of oxidative stress responses can effectively reduce secondary injuries caused by trauma, which has a certain positive effect on the rehabilitation and prognosis of patients with SCIRI. This review systematically expounds the spatiotemporal dynamic characteristics of oxidative stress during the SCIRI process and its molecular regulatory network, with a focus on analyzing the multivariate generation mechanism of ROS. To deeply explore the regulatory effects of ROS on pathological processes such as neuronal death, inflammatory response and blood-spinal barrier disruption under SCIRI conditions, as well as its interaction patterns with signaling pathways. In order to form a systematic treatment for SCIRI caused by oxidative stress and promote the recovery of neurological function after injury. This review is helpful for us to understand the effect of oxidative stress on SCIRI and provides a theoretical basis for the treatment of SCIRI based on oxidative stress.

Keywords: spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion injury (SCIRI), Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, Cell Death, Mechanism Abbreviations: SCIRI: Spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion injury, ROS: Reactive oxygen, BSCB: Bloodspinal cord barrier, O2 -: Superoxide anion

Received: 15 Mar 2025; Accepted: 13 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Kai, Xiao, Zhao, zhou, xing and xiao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Zhao Kai, First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, China
Chunlin xiao, First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, China

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