scholarly journals Chronic administration of P2X7 receptor antagonist JNJ-47965567 delays disease onset and progression, and improves motor performance in ALS SOD1G93A female mice

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. dmm045732
Author(s):  
Cristina Ruiz-Ruiz ◽  
Nuria García-Magro ◽  
Pilar Negredo ◽  
Carlos Avendaño ◽  
Anindya Bhattacharya ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTNeuroinflammation is one of the main physiopathological mechanisms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), produced by the chronic activation of microglia in the CNS. This process is triggered by the persistent activation of the ATP-gated P2X7 receptor (P2RX7, hereafter referred to as P2X7R). The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of the chronic treatment with the P2X7R antagonist JNJ-47965567 in the development and progression of ALS in the SOD1G93A murine model. SOD1G93A mice were intraperitoneally (i.p.) injected with either 30 mg/kg of JNJ-47965567 or vehicle 4 times per week, from pre-onset age (here, postnatal day 60; P60) until study endpoint. Body weight, motor coordination, phenotypic score, disease onset and survival were measured throughout the study, and compared between vehicle- and drug-injected groups. Treatment with the P2X7R antagonist JNJ-47965567 delayed disease onset, reduced body weight loss and improved motor coordination and phenotypic score in female SOD1G93A mice, although it did not increase lifespan. Interestingly, neither beneficial nor detrimental effects were observed in males in any of the analyzed parameters. Treatment did not affect motor neuron survival or ChAT, Iba-1 and P2X7R protein expression in endpoint individuals of mixed sexes. Overall, chronic administration of JNJ-47965567 for 4 times per week to SOD1G93A mice from pre-onset stage altered disease progression in female individuals while it did not have any effect in males. Our results suggest a partial, yet important, effect of P2X7R in the development and progression of ALS.

PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3064 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachael Bartlett ◽  
Vanessa Sluyter ◽  
Debbie Watson ◽  
Ronald Sluyter ◽  
Justin J. Yerbury

BackgroundAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disease characterised by the accumulation of aggregated proteins, microglia activation and motor neuron loss. The mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration and disease progression in ALS are unknown, but the ATP-gated P2X7 receptor channel is implicated in this disease. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine P2X7 in the context of neurodegeneration, and investigate whether the P2X7 antagonist, Brilliant Blue G (BBG), could alter disease progression in a murine model of ALS.MethodsHuman SOD1G93Atransgenic mice, which normally develop ALS, were injected with BBG or saline, three times per week, from pre-onset of clinical disease (62–64 days of age) until end-stage. During the course of treatment mice were assessed for weight, clinical score and survival, and motor coordination, which was assessed by rotarod performance. Various parameters from end-stage mice were assessed as follows. Motor neuron loss and microgliosis were assessed by immunohistochemistry. Relative amounts of lumbar spinal cord SOD1 and P2X7 were quantified by immunoblotting. Serum monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 was measured by ELISA. Splenic leukocyte populations were assessed by flow cytometry. Relative expression of splenic and hepatic P2X7 mRNA was measured by quantitative real-time PCR. Lumbar spinal cord SOD1 and P2X7 were also quantified by immunoblotting in untreated female SOD1G93Amice during the course of disease.ResultsBBG treatment reduced body weight loss in SOD1G93Amice of combined sex, but had no effect on clinical score, survival or motor coordination. BBG treatment reduced body weight loss in female, but not male, SOD1G93Amice. BBG treatment also prolonged survival in female, but not male, SOD1G93Amice, extending the mean survival time by 4.3% in female mice compared to female mice treated with saline. BBG treatment had no effect on clinical score or motor coordination in either sex. BBG treatment had no major effect on any end-stage parameters. Total amounts of lumbar spinal cord SOD1 and P2X7 in untreated female SOD1G93Amice did not change over time.DiscussionCollectively, this data suggests P2X7 may have a partial role in ALS progression in mice, but additional research is required to fully elucidate the contribution of this receptor in this disease.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 1369-1382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Honglin Tan ◽  
Mina Chen ◽  
Dejiang Pang ◽  
Xiaoqiang Xia ◽  
Chongyangzi Du ◽  
...  

Abstract Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive loss of motor neurons. Improving neuronal survival in ALS remains a significant challenge. Previously, we identified Lanthionine synthetase C-like protein 1 (LanCL1) as a neuronal antioxidant defense gene, the genetic deletion of which causes apoptotic neurodegeneration in the brain. Here, we report in vivo data using the transgenic SOD1G93A mouse model of ALS indicating that CNS-specific expression of LanCL1 transgene extends lifespan, delays disease onset, decelerates symptomatic progression, and improves motor performance of SOD1G93A mice. Conversely, CNS-specific deletion of LanCL1 leads to neurodegenerative phenotypes, including motor neuron loss, neuroinflammation, and oxidative damage. Analysis reveals that LanCL1 is a positive regulator of AKT activity, and LanCL1 overexpression restores the impaired AKT activity in ALS model mice. These findings indicate that LanCL1 regulates neuronal survival through an alternative mechanism, and suggest a new therapeutic target in ALS.


2009 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 434-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongyu Xue ◽  
Séverine Le Roy ◽  
Michael B. Sawyer ◽  
Catherine J. Field ◽  
Levinus A. Dieleman ◽  
...  

Prior reports suggest that during irinotecan (7-ethyl-10-[4-(1-piperidino)-1-piperidino]carbonyloxy-camptothecin; CPT-11) chemotherapy in laboratory rats, the anti-tumour efficacy and diarrhoea toxicity could be modulated byn-3 PUFA and glutamine, respectively. We further examined how these two dietary elements, when provided individually and in combination, would affect the efficacy of a cyclical regimen of CPT-11/5-fluorouracil (5-FU), an accepted combination regimen for colorectal cancer. Prior to initiating chemotherapy, diets enriched either with glutamine (2 %, w/w total diet) orn-3 PUFA (0·88 %, w/w total diet) alone, inhibited Ward colon tumour growth (P < 0·05). These diets also completely or partially normalized the changes in peripheral leucocyte counts associated with the tumour-bearing state (e.g. neutrophil proportion/concentration and lymphocyte proportion). During chemotherapy, either glutamine- orn-3 PUFA-enriched diet enhanced tumour chemo-sensitivity, and reduced body weight loss, anorexia and muscle wasting (v.animals fed control diet,P < 0·05). Surprisingly, providing both glutamine andn-3 PUFA together did not confer a greater benefit on tumour inhibition either in the presence or absence of chemotherapy; individual benefits associated with single treatments, particularly in respect to host nutritional status (i.e. body weight, food intake and muscle weight) and immune (peripheral leucocyte counts) features were instead partially or completely lost when these two nutrients were combined. These results draw into question the common assumption that there are additive or synergistic benefits of combinations of nutrients, which are beneficial on an individual basis, and suggest that co-supplementation with glutamine andn-3 PUFA is not indicated during chemotherapy with CPT-11 and 5-FU.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luane da Guia Vieira ◽  
Alan Carlos Fernandes ◽  
Tais Nascimento ◽  
Suzelei de Castro França ◽  
Jose Antunes-Rodrigues ◽  
...  

Abstract POMC neurons expressed in the ARC are essential for energy balance and glucose homeostasis. It has been suggested the involvement of these neurons in the control of endocrine axes, such as the HPA. During fasting, POMCARC neurons are silenced as an effort to reduce body weight loss and to avoid hypoglycemia. During this process glucocorticoid secretion and activation of enzymes involved in the hepatic gluconeogenesis take place in order to preserve the homeostasis. In this study, to clarify the contribution of POMCARC neurons to the adaptive changes in energy homeostasis, glucose metabolism and HPA axis activity induced by food deprivation we used DREADDs to specifically activate POMCARC. Bilateral injections of the AAV carrying the excitatory DREADD (hM3DGq) or only the reporter gene (mCherry) have been performed into the ARC of Pomc-ires-cre and WT mice. Two weeks later the animals were fasted for 36hr, treated with saline (5 i.p. injections each 8hrs) and blood samples were collected from the facial vein at 10am. Two weeks apart, the same animals were submitted to another period of fasting and treated with CNO (1mg/Kg, 5 i.p. injections each 8hrs). Four hours after the last injection of CNO, the mice were anesthetized, blood and the liver were collected and then the animals perfused for brain harvesting. Body weight measurements have been performed before and after the 36hrs period of fasting. Another set of Pomc-ires-cre (hM3DGq or mCherry) and WT animals were fasted (36hrs), treated with CNO (5X) and subjected to GTT. DREADD–induced activation of POMCARC neurons has been confirmed by the increased cFos/mCherry expression after CNO treatment only in Pomc-ires-cre animals expressing hM3DGq. We observed that the specific activation of POMCARC neurons did not change the fasting-induced activation of HPA axis. Surprisingly, we observed reduced body weight loss and higher plasma glucose in Pomc-ires-cre animals expressing the hM3DGq and treated with CNO. The GTT showed an impaired glucose tolerance after activation of POMCARC neurons. The increased fasting glucose plasma levels was associated with increased G6pc (Glucose-6-phosphatase) mRNA expression but with no effect on other hepatic gluconeogenic genes. The present study reveals that POMCARC neurons are not involved in the increased HPA axis activity in prolonged fasting conditions. Considering the classical anorexigenic/thermogenic and the glucose-lowering action of POMCARC neurons, the present data reveal an unpredicted reduced body weight loss and impaired glucose tolerance induced by activation of these neurons during fasting. These data reinforce the notion that POMCARC neurons are heterogeneous and might be playing dual effects on energy homeostasis. Of note, because part of ARC neurons shares a common progenitor, some of the functions ascribed to POMC neurons could be mediated by non-POMC neurons expressing the Cre transgene.


eLife ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Cantor ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Nicolas Delestrée ◽  
Leonor Remédio ◽  
George Z Mentis ◽  
...  

In amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and animal models of ALS, including SOD1-G93A mice, disassembly of the neuromuscular synapse precedes motor neuron loss and is sufficient to cause a decline in motor function that culminates in lethal respiratory paralysis. We treated SOD1-G93A mice with an agonist antibody to MuSK, a receptor tyrosine kinase essential for maintaining neuromuscular synapses, to determine whether increasing muscle retrograde signaling would slow nerve terminal detachment from muscle. The agonist antibody, delivered after disease onset, slowed muscle denervation, promoting motor neuron survival, improving motor system output, and extending the lifespan of SOD1-G93A mice. These findings suggest a novel therapeutic strategy for ALS, using an antibody format with clinical precedence, which targets a pathway essential for maintaining attachment of nerve terminals to muscle.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Rodriguez ◽  
Agueda Ferrer-Donato ◽  
Marta Cabrera-Pinto ◽  
Susana Seseña ◽  
Paloma Fernández ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundOzone (O3), one of the main photochemical pollutants in the atmosphere today, is a serious health risk factor. Although the effects of O3 exposure have been documented on many diseases, they have not yet been examined on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)- a fatal progressive and neurodegenerative disease.ObjectivesTo investigate the effect of the O3 exposure in a mice model of TDP-43 proteinopathy, exploring a possible association between the O3 exposure and the ALS pathogenesis.MethodsTDP-43A315T and wild-type (WT) mice were exposed to O3 (0.25 ppm) or filtered air (FA) for 15 days (4 hours/day). We assessed (1) weight loss (2) motor performance (3) plasma glucose content and (4) metabolic markers from plasma samples of the animals.ResultsThroughout the experiment, we observed a progressive decline in body weight and the motor coordination in TDP-43A315T mice compared to WT controls. Although there was a trend, there were no significant differences in the decline of body weight of TDP-43A315T mice when exposed to either FA or O3. In O3-TDP-43A315T mice, the disease duration lasted longer. In addition, O3-TDP-43A315T mice showed improvements in motor performance as well TDP-43A315T mice were hypoglycemic compared to WT mice. However, FA-TDP-43A315T mice showed lower plasma glucose levels at the disease end-stage. We found altered levels of adipokines and metabolic proteins in TDP-43A315T mice compared to WT controls. A positive correlation was found among GIP and glucagon compared to insulin concentrations in control mice. Interestingly, resistin, Gastric Inhibitory Peptide (GIP), Glucagon Like Peptide 1 (GIP-1) and insulin levels were higher in O3-TDP-43A315T mice.DiscussionWe provide new evidence about a mechanistic link between O3 exposure and the improvement of the metabolic disturbances present in TDP-43A315T mice. Further studies are needed to corroborate the obtained results as they warrant to understanding the underlying mechanisms.


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