Abstract

CRAGNAZ, Lucia; ROMANO, Valentina  and  BARALLE, Francisco Ernesto. TDP-43 aggregation as a possible therapeutic target for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Acta bioquím. clín. latinoam. [online]. 2016, vol.50, n.4, pp.649-655. ISSN 0325-2957.

TDP-43 inclusions are important histopathological features of various neurodegenerative disorders, including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). TDP-43 is mainly a nuclear protein, but it shuffles from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. In patients’ brains, TDP-43 is retained in the cytoplasm of the affected motorneurons to form insoluble aggregates, which results in TDP-43 nuclear clearance. There is still no consensus whether TDP-43-mediated neurodegeneration results from a gain or loss of function of the protein or a combination of both. The work from several laboratories, including this, points towards a strong loss of function component. On the other hand, there is no effective treatment or cure for ALS. Thus, there is obviously a need to find new therapeutic strategies for ALS. In order to gain new insights into the molecular mechanism of the disease, and with the aim of looking for new methodologies that can revert it, a cellular model of TDP-43 aggregation that can mimic the phenotypic consequences found in ALS patients has been developed. Finally, this model was used to search for compounds that can dissolve these aggregates, and it was shown that the clearance of TDP-43 aggregates could be a therapeutic strategy for ALS.

Keywords : Neurodegeneration; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; TDP-43; Aggregate; Cellular model; Possible therapies.

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