MOTOR NEURONS WITH DIFFERENTIAL VULNERABILITY TO DEGENERATION SHOW DISTINCT PROTEIN SIGNATURES IN HEALTH AND ALS

作者：Comley L; Allodi I; Nichterwitz S; Nizzardo M; Simone C; Corti S; Hedlund E^*

来源：Neuroscience, 2015, 291: 216-229.

DOI：10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.02.013

• oculomotor
• motor neuron
• amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• neurodegeneration
• selective vulnerability

The lethal disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is characterized by the loss of somatic motor neurons. However, not all motor neurons are equally vulnerable to disease; certain groups are spared, including those in the oculomotor nucleus controlling eye movement. The reasons for this differential vulnerability remain unknown. Here we have identified a protein signature for resistant oculomotor motor neurons and vulnerable hypoglossal and spinal motor neurons in mouse and man and in health and ALS with the aim of understanding motor neuron resistance. Several proteins with implications for motor neuron resistance, including GABA(A) receptor alpha 1, guanylate cyclase soluble subunit alpha-3 and parvalbumin were persistently expressed in oculomotor neurons in man and mouse. Vulnerable motor neurons displayed higher protein levels of dynein, peripherin and GABA(A) receptor alpha 2, which play roles in retrograde transport and excitability, respectively. These were dynamically regulated during disease and thus could place motor neurons at an increased risk. From our analysis is it evident that oculomotor motor neurons have a distinct protein signature compared to vulnerable motor neurons in brain stem and spinal cord, which could in part explain their resistance to degeneration in ALS. Our comparison of human and mouse shows the relative conservation of signals across species and infers that transgenic SOD1(G93A) mice could be used to predict mechanisms of neuronal vulnerability in man.

• 出版日期2015-4-16