TY - JOUR T1 - Thioltransferase (Glutaredoxin) Mediates Recovery of Motor Neurons from Excitotoxic Mitochondrial Injury JF - The Journal of Neuroscience JO - J. Neurosci. SP - 8402 LP - 8410 DO - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.22-19-08402.2002 VL - 22 IS - 19 AU - Rajappa S. Kenchappa AU - Latha Diwakar AU - Michael R. Boyd AU - Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath Y1 - 2002/10/01 UR - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/22/19/8402.abstract N2 - Mitochondrial dysfunction involving electron transport components is implicated in the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative disorders and is a critical event in excitotoxicity. Excitatory amino acidl-β-N-oxalylamino-l-alanine (l-BOAA), causes progressive corticospinal neurodegeneration in humans. In mice, l-BOAA triggers glutathione loss and protein thiol oxidation that disrupts mitochondrial complex I selectively in motor cortex and lumbosacral cord, the regions affected in humans. We examined the factors regulating postinjury recovery of complex I in CNS regions after a single dose of l-BOAA. The expression of thioltransferase (glutaredoxin), a protein disulfide oxidoreductase regulated through AP1 transcription factor was upregulated within 30 min ofl-BOAA administration, providing the first evidence for functional regulation of thioltransferase during restoration of mitochondrial function. Regeneration of complex I activity in motor cortex was concurrent with increase in thioltransferase protein and activity, 1 hr after the excitotoxic insult. Pretreatment with α-lipoic acid, a thiol delivery agent that protects motor neurons from l-BOAA-mediated toxicity prevented the upregulation of thioltransferase and AP1 activation, presumably by maintaining thiol homeostasis. Downregulation of thioltransferase using antisense oligonucleotides prevented the recovery of complex I in motor cortex and exacerbated the mitochondrial dysfunction in lumbosacral cord, providing support for the critical role for thioltransferase in maintenance of mitochondrial function in the CNS. ER -