An iPSC model for POLR3A-associated spastic ataxia: Generation of three unrelated patient cell lines by Kalaivani Manibarathi, Tam Pham, Holger Hengel, Matthis Synofzik, Maike Nagel, Rebecca Schüle

“…Spastic Ataxias (SA) are a group of neurodegenerative disorders with combined pyramidal and cerebellar system affection, leading to an overlap phenotype between Hereditary Spastic Paraplegias (HSP) and Cerebellar Ataxias (CA). Here we describe the generation of iPSCs from three unrelated patients with an ultra-rare subtype of SA caused by compound heterozygous mutations in POLR3A, that encodes the largest subunit of RNA polymerase III. iPSCs were reprogrammed from normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDFs) using episomal reprogramming with integration-free plasmid vectors: HIHRSi004-A, derived from a 44 year-old male carrying the mutations c.1909 + 22G > A/c.3944_3945delTG, HIHRSi005-A obtained from a 66 year-old male carrying the mutations c.1909 + 22G > A/c.1531C > T, and HIHRSi006-A from a 27 year-old male carrying the mutations c.1909 + 22G > A/c.2472_2472delC (ENST00000372371.8).…”
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Stem Cell Models and Gene Targeting for Human Motor Neuron Diseases by Yashashree Karpe, Zhenyu Chen, Xue-Jun Li

“…Degeneration of motor neurons results in progressive muscle weakness, which underlies several debilitating neurological disorders including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSP), and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). …”
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An Automated Imaging-Based Screen for Genetic Modulators of ER Organisation in Cultured Human Cells by M. Elena Garcia-Pardo, Jeremy C. Simpson, Niamh C. O’Sullivan

“…Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs) are a heterogeneous group of mono-genetic inherited neurological disorders, whose primary manifestation is the disruption of the pyramidal system, observed as a progressive impaired gait and leg spasticity in patients. …”
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Longitudinal changes of SARA scale in Friedreich ataxia: Strong influence of baseline score and age at onset by Luca Porcu, Mario Fichera, Lorenzo Nanetti, Eliana Rulli, Paola Giunti, Michael H. Parkinson, Alexandra Durr, Claire Ewenczyk, Sylvia Boesch, Wolfgang Nachbauer, Elisabetta Indelicato, Thomas Klopstock, Claudia Stendel, Francisco Javier Rodríguez de Rivera, Ludger Schöls, Zofia Fleszar, Ilaria Giordano, Claire Didszun, Anna Castaldo, Myriam Rai, Thomas Klockgether, Massimo Pandolfo, Jörg B. Schulz, Kathrin Reetz, Caterina Mariotti, for the EFACTS Study Group

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