Weizmann lab spared by Iranian missile publishes work on nerve regeneration

Just weeks after an Iranian missile attack destroyed eight laboratories at the Weizmann Institute of Science, scientists at the institute say they have discovered hundreds of molecules that help nerve cells regrow after damage caused by conditions as diverse as battlefield injuries and chronic disease.

Researchers from Prof. Michael Fainzilber’s laboratory in the institute’s department of molecular sciences, which did not sustain damage in the June attack, found that certain RNA molecules can kickstart regeneration in damaged nerve cells.

These molecules, called B2-SINEs, were shown to stimulate regrowth not only in the peripheral nervous system of mice but also in the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord.

“If you have peripheral nerve injury from an accident or an act of war, it takes many, many months for effective regeneration,” said Fainzilber, speaking by phone to The Times of Israel. “Cutting the time of repair would also improve the outcome and the quality of life for the injured, of which we unfortunately have very many in this country in the past two years [of war].”

Collaborating with Fainzilber in his lab were Dr. Eitan Erez Zahavi, Dr. Christin A. Albus, and Dr. Indrek Koppel, as well as Dr. Riki Kawaguchi from the University of California, Los Angeles. The study was recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Cell.

From a wrong idea to a groundbreaking discovery

Fainzilber said that this research took 12 years to complete and began with Albus, then a PhD student in the lab, suggesting an idea that “turned out to be completely wrong.”

“There’s this myth that scientists are like detectives, and we follow clues like Sherlock Holmes,” he said. “But in this case, the idea required us to look at a class of molecules, B2-SINEs, that people usually don’t look at in this context. So wrong ideas occasionally lead you into interesting new directions in science.”

In the human body, B2-SINEs are sequences in the DNA molecule. They do not produce proteins. Instead, they seem to help relay growth instructions from the nerve cell body to the long fiber at the end of the cell, called the axon.

B2-SINEs help build bridges

The researchers were surprised to find that after one day of nerve injury damage, there was a spike in B2-SINEs, whose role had previously been unknown.

Using bioinformatic tools, Zahavi identified 453 B2-SINE sequences that helped stimulate regeneration. The scientists then tested these B2-SINEs in brain neurons in mice.

They discovered that when these molecules were present in greater amounts, the damaged nerve cells in the eye and brain grew back faster than normal.

However, the researchers still didn’t know how these molecules triggered growth. Working with researchers in California, they discovered that B2-SINEs help build a bridge between the so-called couriers that carry instructions for making proteins and the ribosomes, which are parts of the cell that follow these instructions.

Searching for elements in humans to regenerate nerves

There are still no effective treatments to help nerves grow back quickly, Fainzilber said. The growth the researchers observed is not yet sufficient to address clinical paralysis, but “it is definitely significant.”

The researchers are now trying to determine whether the human equivalent of B2-SINEs, known as Alu elements, are involved in nerve regeneration in humans.

If they find these small molecules or other RNA elements that can mimic the activity of B2-SINEs, then these can be developed into medications, Fainzilber said.

In addition to helping with injuries, the molecules may also help with conditions where people either lose feeling or experience pain due to nerve damage. They are also currently studying the mechanism’s possible role in stroke recovery, and collaborating with Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University and Sheba Medical Center to study the possible role of B2-SINE in ALS, a progressive neurodegenerative disease.

“Neurodegenerative conditions affect many millions of people worldwide,” he said. “While the road ahead is long, I truly hope we’ll one day be able to harness our newly discovered regeneration mechanism to treat them.”

Offers of help from abroad after the Iranian missile attack

Fainzilber said his department is now making room for 14 research groups whose labs were destroyed in the attack.

“It’s so important for people to know that research is still happening,” he said. “We’re going to be at something like 180% capacity in our building for the next couple of years.”

The support from other Israeli institutions has been “overwhelming.”

“Practically every university in the country has offered to help with the use of facilities and equipment,” he said. “Students are now going to Tel Aviv University to use a specialized microscope to finish an ongoing experiment since that type of microscope was destroyed in the attack.”

Fainzilber said he has also received letters of support from abroad, including offers of “physical help, material help with equipment, and help with hosting people in labs overseas.”

The BDS movement has gained momentum in its efforts to garner support for the boycott of Israeli institutions, but Fainzilber said that he thought that “most working scientists don’t pay attention to BDS.”

“In interactions with scientists in Israel, they just want to help the science,” he said.

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