<i>Aim</i>: The demonstration that chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) contributes to the degradation of TDP-43, the main constituent of cytoplasmic inclusions typically found in motor neurons of patients with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (sALS), has pointed out a possible involvement of CMA in aggregate formation.
Since previous studies have shown that BBs and TDP-43-IR inclusions are often detected in association with autophagy-related structures (autophagosomes and autolysosomes), we examined the anterior horn cells (AHCs) of the spinal cord from 15 patients with sALS and 6 control subjects, using antibodies against autophagy-related proteins (LC3, cathepsin B, and cathepsin D).
Phosphorylated transactivation response DNA-binding protein 43 kDa (p-TDP-43)-immunoreactive neuronal and glial cytoplasmic inclusions are a histopathological hallmark of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TDP-43.
Novel intracytoplasmic inclusions immunoreactive for phosphorylated-TDP43 and cystatin C in anterior horn cells in a case of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Furthermore, we report a global reduction of mature microRNAs, alterations in microRNA processing, and support for a role of the nucleotide binding protein, TAR DNA binding protein 43, in regulating sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-associated microRNAs, thereby offering a potential underlying mechanism for sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Additionally, we have demonstrated that the levels of HSF1 and heat shock proteins are significantly reduced in affected neuronal tissues from a TDP-43 transgenic mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and patients with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
TAR DNA binding protein 43 (TDP-43) is a nuclear protein that has been shown to have altered homeostasis in the form of neuronal nuclear and cytoplasmic aggregates in some familial and almost all cases of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis as well as 51% of frontotemporal lobar degeneration and 57% of Alzheimer's disease cases.
The neuropathologic molecular signature common to almost all sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and most familial ALS is TDP-43 immunoreactive neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions.
Mutations in C9ORF72, SOD1, TARDBP, and FUS genes account for approximately two-third of familial cases and 5% of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) cases.
High-quality RNA from six healthy Control and six sALS samples yielded the predicted differential expression for 7 genes: TARDBP, SKIV2L2, C12orf35, DYNLT1, ACTG1, B2M, and ILKAP.
The importance of RNA metabolism in disease was highlighted by the discovery of TDP-43 (TAR DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa), an RNA-binding protein (RBP), as a primary component of insoluble aggregates in patients with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Mutations in TARDBP encoding TDP (TAR DNA binding protein)-43 have been reported in familial and sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but mostly in Caucasians.
Both the appearance of cytoplasmic inclusions containing phosphorylated TAR DNA-binding protein (TDP-43) and inefficient RNA editing at the GluR2 Q/R site are molecular abnormalities observed specifically in motor neurons of patients with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).