Identification of regulatory network and potential drugs in spinal cord injury based on comprehensive bioinformatics analysis

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a significant neurological disorder that results in permanent impairment of motor and sensory functions below the injury site. Oligodendrocytes and oligodendrocyte precursor cells (ODC/OPC) play a crucial role in neural morphological repair and functional recovery following SCI. We performed single-cell sequencing (scRNA-seq) on 59,558 cells from 39 mouse samples, combined with microarray data from 164 SCI samples and 3 uninjured samples. We further validated our findings using a large clinical cohort consisting of 38 SCI patients, 10 healthy controls, and 10 trauma controls, assessed with the American Spinal Cord Injury Association (ASIA) scale. We proposed a novel SCI classification model based on the expression of prognostic differentially expressed ODC/OPC differentiation-related genes (PDEODGs). This model includes three types: Low ODC/OPC Score Classification (LOSC), Median ODC/OPC Score Classification (MOSC), and High ODC/OPC Score Classification (HOSC). Considering the relationship between these subtypes and prognosis, we speculated that enhancing ODC/OPC differentiation and inhibiting inflammatory infiltration may improve outcomes. Additionally, we identified potential treatments for SCI that target key genes within these subtypes, offering promising implications for therapy.