scholarly journals Pathophysiological Correlation between Cigarette Smoking and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

NeuroSci ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-134
Author(s):  
Spiro Menounos ◽  
Philip M. Hansbro ◽  
Ashish D. Diwan ◽  
Abhirup Das
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽  
Risk Factor ◽  
Disease Process ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Environmental Risk Factor ◽  
Sporadic Als ◽  
Blood Spinal Cord Barrier ◽  
Lateral Sclerosis

Cigarette smoke (CS) has been consistently demonstrated to be an environmental risk factor for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), although the molecular pathogenic mechanisms involved are yet to be elucidated. Here, we propose different mechanisms by which CS exposure can cause sporadic ALS pathogenesis. Oxidative stress and neuroinflammation are widely implicated in ALS pathogenesis, with blood–spinal cord barrier disruption also recognised to be involved in the disease process. In addition, immunometabolic, epigenetic and microbiome alterations have been implicated in ALS recently. Identification of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms that underpin CS-associated ALS will drive future research to be conducted into new targets for treatment.

scholarly journals Role of Oxidative Stress in the Pathogenesis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Antioxidant Metalloenzymes and Therapeutic Strategies

Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 437
Author(s):  
Pavlína Hemerková ◽  
Martin Vališ
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽  
Antioxidant Enzymes ◽  
Oxygen Radicals ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Free Oxygen Radicals ◽  
Free Oxygen ◽  
Sporadic Als ◽  
Familial Form ◽  
Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) affects motor neurons in the cerebral cortex, brainstem and spinal cord and leads to death due to respiratory failure within three to five years. Although the clinical symptoms of this disease were first described in 1869 and it is the most common motor neuron disease and the most common neurodegenerative disease in middle-aged individuals, the exact etiopathogenesis of ALS remains unclear and it remains incurable. However, free oxygen radicals (i.e., molecules containing one or more free electrons) are known to contribute to the pathogenesis of this disease as they very readily bind intracellular structures, leading to functional impairment. Antioxidant enzymes, which are often metalloenzymes, inactivate free oxygen radicals by converting them into a less harmful substance. One of the most important antioxidant enzymes is Cu2+Zn2+ superoxide dismutase (SOD1), which is mutated in 20% of cases of the familial form of ALS (fALS) and up to 7% of sporadic ALS (sALS) cases. In addition, the proper functioning of catalase and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) is essential for antioxidant protection. In this review article, we focus on the mechanisms through which these enzymes are involved in the antioxidant response to oxidative stress and thus the pathogenesis of ALS and their potential as therapeutic targets.

scholarly journals RBM45 Modulates the Antioxidant Response in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis through Interactions with KEAP1

2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (14) ◽  
pp. 2385-2399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine Bakkar ◽  
Arianna Kousari ◽  
Tina Kovalik ◽  
Yang Li ◽  
Robert Bowser
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
Binding Protein ◽  
Rna Binding Protein ◽  
Antioxidant Response ◽  
Cytoplasmic Inclusions ◽  
Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by the selective loss of motor neurons. Various factors contribute to the disease, including RNA binding protein dysregulation and oxidative stress, but their exact role in pathogenic mechanisms remains unclear. We have recently linked another RNA binding protein, RBM45, to ALS via increased levels of protein in the cerebrospinal fluid of ALS patients and its localization to cytoplasmic inclusions in ALS motor neurons. Here we show RBM45 nuclear exit in ALS spinal cord motor neurons compared to controls, a phenotype recapitulatedin vitroin motor neurons treated with oxidative stressors. We find that RBM45 binds and stabilizes KEAP1, the inhibitor of the antioxidant response transcription factor NRF2. ALS lumbar spinal cord lysates similarly show increased cytoplasmic binding of KEAP1 and RBM45. Binding of RBM45 to KEAP1 impedes the protective antioxidant response, thus contributing to oxidative stress-induced cellular toxicity. Our findings thus describe a novel link between a mislocalized RNA binding protein implicated in ALS (RBM45) and dysregulation of the neuroprotective antioxidant response seen in the disease.

scholarly journals Altered Blood-Brain Barrier and Blood-Spinal Cord Barrier Dynamics in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Impact on Medication Efficacy and Safety

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yijun Pan ◽  
Joseph Nicolazzo
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽  
Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽  
Blood Brain Barrier ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Brain Barrier ◽  
Blood Brain ◽  
Blood Spinal Cord Barrier ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Lateral Sclerosis

The access of drugs into the central nervous system (CNS) is regulated by the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB). A large body of evidence supports perturbation of these barriers in neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Modifications to the BBB and BSCB are also reported in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), albeit these modifications have received less attention relative to those in other neurodegenerative diseases. Such alterations to the BBB and BSCB have the potential to impact on CNS exposure of drugs in ALS, modulating the effectiveness of drugs intended to reach the brain and the toxicity of drugs that are not intended to reach the brain. Given the clinical importance of these phenomena, this review will summarise reported modifications to the BBB and BSCB in ALS, discuss their impact on CNS drug exposure and suggest further research directions so as to optimise medicine use in people with ALS.

Chitotriosidase (CHIT1) is increased in microglia and macrophages in spinal cord of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and cerebrospinal fluid levels correlate with disease severity and progression

2017 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra Steinacker ◽  
Federico Verde ◽  
Lubin Fang ◽  
Emily Feneberg ◽  
Patrick Oeckl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
Disease Progression ◽  
Underlying Disease ◽  
Therapeutic Trials ◽  
Sporadic Als ◽  
Jakob Disease ◽  
Diagnostic Sensitivity And Specificity ◽  
Lateral Sclerosis

ObjectivesNeurochemical markers of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that reflect underlying disease mechanisms might help in diagnosis, staging and prediction of outcome. We aimed at determining the origin and differential diagnostic and prognostic potential of the putative marker of microglial activation chitotriosidase (CHIT1).MethodsAltogether 316 patients were included, comprising patients with sporadic ALS, ALS mimics (disease controls (DCo)), frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD) and healthy controls (Con). CHIT1 and neurofilament levels were determined in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood and analysed with regard to diagnostic sensitivity and specificity and prognostic performance. Additionally, postmortem tissue was analysed for CHIT1 expression.ResultsIn ALS, CHIT1 CSF levels were higher compared with Con (p<0.0001), DCo (p<0.05) and neurodegenerative diseases (AD p<0.05, PD p<0.01, FTLD p<0.0001) except CJD. CHIT1 concentrations were correlated with ALS disease progression and severity but not with the survival time, as did neurofilaments. Serum CHIT1 levels were not different in ALS compared with any other study group. In the spinal cord of patients with ALS, but not Con, AD or CJD cases, CHIT1 was expressed in the corticospinal tract and CHIT1 staining colocalised with markers of microglia (IBA1) and macrophages (CD68).ConclusionsCHIT1 concentrations in the CSF of patients with ALS may reflect the extent of microglia/macrophage activation in the white matter of the spinal cord. CHIT1 could be a potentially useful marker for differential diagnosis and prediction of disease progression in ALS and, therefore, seems suitable as a supplemental marker for patient stratification in therapeutic trials.

scholarly journals Endoplasmic reticulum stress leads to accumulation of wild-type SOD1 aggregates associated with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (32) ◽  
pp. 8209-8214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danilo B. Medinas ◽  
Pablo Rozas ◽  
Francisca Martínez Traub ◽  
Ute Woehlbier ◽  
Robert H. Brown ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽  
Transgenic Mice ◽  
Er Stress ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Spinal Cord Tissue ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Sporadic Als ◽  
Lateral Sclerosis

Abnormal modifications to mutant superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) are linked to familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (fALS). Misfolding of wild-type SOD1 (SOD1WT) is also observed in postmortem tissue of a subset of sporadic ALS (sALS) cases, but cellular and molecular mechanisms generating abnormal SOD1WT species are unknown. We analyzed aberrant human SOD1WT species over the lifetime of transgenic mice and found the accumulation of disulfide–cross-linked high–molecular-weight SOD1WT aggregates during aging. Subcellular fractionation of spinal cord tissue and protein overexpression in NSC-34 motoneuron-like cells revealed that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) localization favors oxidation and disulfide-dependent aggregation of SOD1WT. We established a pharmacological paradigm of chronic ER stress in vivo, which recapitulated SOD1WTaggregation in young transgenic mice. These species were soluble in nondenaturing detergents and did not react with a SOD1 conformation-specific antibody. Interestingly, SOD1WT aggregation under ER stress correlated with astrocyte activation in the spinal cord of transgenic mice. Finally, the disulfide–cross-linked SOD1WT species were also found augmented in spinal cord tissue of sALS patients, correlating with the presence of ER stress markers. Overall, this study suggests that ER stress increases the susceptibility of SOD1WT to aggregate during aging, operating as a possible risk factor for developing ALS.

scholarly journals Blood–spinal cord barrier breakdown and pericyte reductions in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

2012 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ethan A. Winkler ◽  
Jesse D. Sengillo ◽  
John S. Sullivan ◽  
Jenny S. Henkel ◽  
Stanley H. Appel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ◽  
Barrier Breakdown ◽  
Blood Spinal Cord Barrier ◽  
Lateral Sclerosis
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