Neuromuscular effects of G93A-SOD1 expression in zebrafish
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal disorder involving the degeneration and loss of motor neurons. The mechanisms of motor neuron loss in ALS are unknown and there are no effective treatments. Defects in the distal axon an...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2012-08-01
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| Series: | Molecular Neurodegeneration |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.molecularneurodegeneration.com/content/7/1/44 |
| _version_ | 1818039068090433536 |
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| author | Sakowski Stacey A Lunn J Busta Angela S Oh Sang Zamora-Berridi Grettel Palmer Madeline Rosenberg Andrew A Philip Stephen G Dowling James J Feldman Eva L |
| author_facet | Sakowski Stacey A Lunn J Busta Angela S Oh Sang Zamora-Berridi Grettel Palmer Madeline Rosenberg Andrew A Philip Stephen G Dowling James J Feldman Eva L |
| author_sort | Sakowski Stacey A |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal disorder involving the degeneration and loss of motor neurons. The mechanisms of motor neuron loss in ALS are unknown and there are no effective treatments. Defects in the distal axon and at the neuromuscular junction are early events in the disease course, and zebrafish provide a promising in vivo system to examine cellular mechanisms and treatments for these events in ALS pathogenesis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We demonstrate that transient genetic manipulation of zebrafish to express G93A-<it>SOD1</it>, a mutation associated with familial ALS, results in early defects in motor neuron outgrowth and axonal branching. This is consistent with previous reports on motor neuron axonal defects associated with familial ALS genes following knockdown or mutant protein overexpression. We also demonstrate that upregulation of growth factor signaling is capable of rescuing these early defects, validating the potential of the model for therapeutic discovery. We generated stable transgenic zebrafish lines expressing G93A-<it>SOD1</it> to further characterize the consequences of G93A-<it>SOD1</it> expression on neuromuscular pathology and disease progression. Behavioral monitoring reveals evidence of motor dysfunction and decreased activity in transgenic ALS zebrafish. Examination of neuromuscular and neuronal pathology throughout the disease course reveals a loss of neuromuscular junctions and alterations in motor neuron innervations patterns with disease progression. Finally, motor neuron cell loss is evident later in the disease.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This sequence of events reflects the stepwise mechanisms of degeneration in ALS, and provides a novel model for mechanistic discovery and therapeutic development for neuromuscular degeneration in ALS.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T07:52:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b64dc1da552543998686a1bed5d685f9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1750-1326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T07:52:45Z |
| publishDate | 2012-08-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Molecular Neurodegeneration |
| spelling | doaj.art-b64dc1da552543998686a1bed5d685f92022-12-22T01:56:58ZengBMCMolecular Neurodegeneration1750-13262012-08-01714410.1186/1750-1326-7-44Neuromuscular effects of G93A-SOD1 expression in zebrafishSakowski Stacey ALunn JBusta Angela SOh SangZamora-Berridi GrettelPalmer MadelineRosenberg Andrew APhilip Stephen GDowling James JFeldman Eva L<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal disorder involving the degeneration and loss of motor neurons. The mechanisms of motor neuron loss in ALS are unknown and there are no effective treatments. Defects in the distal axon and at the neuromuscular junction are early events in the disease course, and zebrafish provide a promising in vivo system to examine cellular mechanisms and treatments for these events in ALS pathogenesis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We demonstrate that transient genetic manipulation of zebrafish to express G93A-<it>SOD1</it>, a mutation associated with familial ALS, results in early defects in motor neuron outgrowth and axonal branching. This is consistent with previous reports on motor neuron axonal defects associated with familial ALS genes following knockdown or mutant protein overexpression. We also demonstrate that upregulation of growth factor signaling is capable of rescuing these early defects, validating the potential of the model for therapeutic discovery. We generated stable transgenic zebrafish lines expressing G93A-<it>SOD1</it> to further characterize the consequences of G93A-<it>SOD1</it> expression on neuromuscular pathology and disease progression. Behavioral monitoring reveals evidence of motor dysfunction and decreased activity in transgenic ALS zebrafish. Examination of neuromuscular and neuronal pathology throughout the disease course reveals a loss of neuromuscular junctions and alterations in motor neuron innervations patterns with disease progression. Finally, motor neuron cell loss is evident later in the disease.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This sequence of events reflects the stepwise mechanisms of degeneration in ALS, and provides a novel model for mechanistic discovery and therapeutic development for neuromuscular degeneration in ALS.</p>http://www.molecularneurodegeneration.com/content/7/1/44Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)Motor neuron (MN)ZebrafishCu<sup>2+</sup>/Zn<sup>2+</sup> superoxide dismutase (SOD1)G93A-SOD1Neuromuscular junctionNeurodegeneration |
| spellingShingle | Sakowski Stacey A Lunn J Busta Angela S Oh Sang Zamora-Berridi Grettel Palmer Madeline Rosenberg Andrew A Philip Stephen G Dowling James J Feldman Eva L Neuromuscular effects of G93A-SOD1 expression in zebrafish Molecular Neurodegeneration Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) Motor neuron (MN) Zebrafish Cu<sup>2+</sup>/Zn<sup>2+</sup> superoxide dismutase (SOD1) G93A-SOD1 Neuromuscular junction Neurodegeneration |
| title | Neuromuscular effects of G93A-SOD1 expression in zebrafish |
| title_full | Neuromuscular effects of G93A-SOD1 expression in zebrafish |
| title_fullStr | Neuromuscular effects of G93A-SOD1 expression in zebrafish |
| title_full_unstemmed | Neuromuscular effects of G93A-SOD1 expression in zebrafish |
| title_short | Neuromuscular effects of G93A-SOD1 expression in zebrafish |
| title_sort | neuromuscular effects of g93a sod1 expression in zebrafish |
| topic | Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) Motor neuron (MN) Zebrafish Cu<sup>2+</sup>/Zn<sup>2+</sup> superoxide dismutase (SOD1) G93A-SOD1 Neuromuscular junction Neurodegeneration |
| url | http://www.molecularneurodegeneration.com/content/7/1/44 |
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