Journal
EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
Volume 201, Issue 1, Pages 120-130Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2006.03.028
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- NINDS NIH HHS [R01NS041680] Funding Source: Medline
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Recent studies have highlighted the role of astrocytes in the development of motor neuron disease in animal models. The astrocyte glutamate transporter GLT1 is responsible for a significant portion of glutamate transport from the synaptic cleft; regulating synaptic transmission and preventing glutamate excitotoxicity. While previous studies have demonstrated reductions in GLT1 with SOD I-mediated disease progression, it is not well established whether a reduction in this astrocyte-specific transporter alters the pathobiology of motor neuron degeneration in the SODIG93A mouse. In order to address this possible astrocyte-specific influence, we crossed the SODIG93A mouse line with a mouse heterozygous for GLT1 (GLT1 +/-) exhibiting a significant reduction in transporter protein. Mice that carried both the SOD1 mutation and a reduced amount of GLTI (SODIG93A/GLT1 +/-) exhibited an increase in the rate of motor decline accompanied by earlier motor neuron loss when compared with SODIG93A mice. A modest reduction in survival was also noted in these mice. Dramatic losses of the GLTI protein and reduced glutamate transport in the lumbar spinal cords of the SOD1(G93A)/GLTI +/- animals were also observed. GLT1 was not significantly changed in cortices from these animals suggesting that the effect of mutant SOD1 on GLTI production/function was largely targeted to spinal cord rather than cortical astrocytes. This study suggests that astrocytes, and the astrocyte glutamate transporter GLTI, play a role in modifying disease progression and motor neuron loss in this model. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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