CO₂ Inhalation Restores Nerve Regrowth in Mice — SkimNews
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- Zhigang He led a Harvard Medical School study showing that newborn mice lose regenerative ability when they start breathing air and exhaling CO₂, which triggers a cellular pH shift that deactivates mTOR.
- Mice delivered via caesarean section retained high mTOR activity if kept in the amniotic sac, but mTOR dropped immediately upon first breath, even with the umbilical cord intact.
- CO₂ at 10% in inhaled air prevented mTOR shutdown in newborns and reactivated it in adult mice, restoring neurons’ ability to regenerate after injury across brain, heart, and muscle tissues.
- Soroush Tahmasebi notes the discovery identifies CO₂ exhalation as a reversible mechanism behind regenerative failure, potentially applicable across organs, not just nerves.
- Nahum Sonenberg calls the findings 'very tantalising' and 'groundbreaking' if confirmed, as they suggest a simple, non-invasive therapy for conditions like traumatic brain or spinal cord injury.
- The researchers emphasize that while CO₂ inhalation could offer a safer, temporary way to activate regenerative pathways without cancer risks tied to mTOR drugs, safe dosing and side effects remain unknown.
Why it matters: This discovery shifts the focus from irreversible developmental loss to a reversible physiological trigger—CO₂ levels—meaning regenerative therapies could one day be non-invasive and tissue-specific. For patients with spinal cord or brain injuries, even a temporary restoration of regrowth capacity could dramatically alter recovery outcomes, while avoiding the cancer risks of direct mTOR-activating drugs.
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