Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1-2
pubmed:dateCreated
2005-4-19
pubmed:abstractText
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is characterized by a progressive loss of large motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Amyloid precursor protein (APP), the transmembrane precursor of beta-amyloid (A beta), accumulates in the anterior horn motor neurons of ALS patients with mild lesions. APP undergoes an alternative proteolysis mediated by caspase-3, which is activated in motor neurons in a mouse model of ALS. The ALS spinal cord motor neurons also show evidence of increased oxidative damage, which is thought to alter APP processing. We sought to determine whether A beta42, the more pathogenic A beta species, accumulates in the postmortem lumbar spinal cord of ALS patients. While there was little or no A beta42 labeling in control spinal cord tissues, elevated A beta42 immunoreactivity occurred in ALS motor neuronal perikarya and axonal swellings in the anterior horn. A few A beta42-positive neurons exhibited thioflavine S staining. No extracellular A beta42 deposits were found. A beta42 coexisted with the oxidative damage markers malondialdehyde, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine, heme oxygenase-1, and nitrotyrosine in abnormal neurons. The neurons with intracellular A beta42 accumulation also displayed robust cleaved caspase-3 immunoreactivity. Very little A beta40 immunoreactivity occurred in motor neurons of both control and ALS. These results suggest that aberrant accumulation of A beta42 in ALS spinal cord motor neurons is associated with oxidative stress, and may play a role in the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration in ALS.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:issn
0969-9961
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
19
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
340-7
pubmed:dateRevised
2010-11-18
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:articleTitle
Beta-amyloid 42 accumulation in the lumbar spinal cord motor neurons of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Neurology and Neuroscience, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, 525 East 68th Street, F-610, New York, NY 10021, USA. nyc2001@med.cornell.edu
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Comparative Study, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't