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The Journal of Neuroscience, May 1, 1998, 18(9):3241-3250
Massive Mitochondrial Degeneration in Motor Neurons Triggers the
Onset of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in Mice Expressing a Mutant
SOD1
Jiming
Kong1 and
Zuoshang
Xu2
Departments of 1 Pharmacology and Molecular Toxicology
and 2 Cell Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical
School, Worcester Foundation Campus, Shrewsbury, Massachusetts 01545
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) involves motor neuron
degeneration, skeletal muscle atrophy, paralysis, and death. Mutations in Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) are one cause of the disease. Mice
transgenic for mutated SOD1 develop symptoms and pathology similar to
those in human ALS. To understand the disease mechanism, we developed a
simple behavioral assay for disease progression in mice. Using this
assay, we defined four stages of the disease in mice expressing G93A
mutant SOD1. By studying mice with defined disease stages, we tied
several pathological features into a coherent sequence of events
leading to motor neuron death. We show that onset of the disease
involves a sharp decline of muscle strength and a transient explosive
increase in vacuoles derived from degenerating mitochondria, but little
motor neuron death. Most motor neurons do not die until the terminal
stage, ~9 weeks after disease onset. These results indicate that
mutant SOD1 toxicity is mediated by damage to mitochondria in motor
neurons, and this damage triggers the functional decline of motor
neurons and the clinical onset of ALS. The absence of massive motor
neuron death at the early stages of the disease indicates that the
majority of motor neurons could be rescued after clinical
diagnosis.
Key words:
ALS; mitochondria; SOD1; paralysis; motor neuron; degeneration; spinal cord
Copyright © 1998 Society for Neuroscience 0270-6474/98/1893241-10$05.00/0
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