HDAC6: A Target for Regeneration Following Injury in the Nervous System

In the Specific Aims of this Application, we will examine the function of HDAC6, as well as the 1-tubulin acetylating enzyme, Elp3, in growth-inhibited axons. We will examine the extent to which their activities modulate the acetylation level of 1-tubulin and the role of 1-tubulin deacetylation in microtubule destabilization and axonal regeneration failure. We also will test whether HDAC6 plays a role in axon regeneration failure in vivo and whether increasing 1-tubulin acetylation by HDAC inhibition enhances axonal regeneration after spinal cord injury.