Regenerating injured nerve fibers (IMAGE) Boston Children's Hospital Caption These four panels show regeneration of injured axons in mice under four treatment scenarios. When the growth factor CNTF (ciliary neurotrophic factor) was used alone (placed directly in the retina), growth was slightly but only modestly increased (panel B) as compared with untreated control mice (panel A). In panels C and D, researchers used genetic techniques to delete a suppressor of injury-induced growth factors, known as SOCS3, and got substantially more regeneration -- especially in mice also receiving CNTF (panel D). All studies were done in retinal ganglion cells that constitute the optic nerve, a common model for studying regeneration in the central nervous system. Credit Courtesy Fang Sun, PhD, Children’s Hospital Boston. Usage Restrictions Please credit as indicated. License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.