2011 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Establishment of novel Drosophila models of ALS expressing TDP-43, and analyses of its pathomechanisms
| Project/Area Number |
22790839
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
Neurology
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| Research Institution | National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry |
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Principal Investigator |
FUJIKAKE Nobuhiro 独立行政法人国立精神・神経医療研究センター, 疾病研究第四部, 科研費研究員 (60467595)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2010 – 2011
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| Keywords | 遺伝子 / 遺伝学 / 神経科学 / 筋萎縮性側索硬化症 / ALS / TDP-43 / 神経変性疾患 / ショウジョウバエ |
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| Research Abstract |
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease which is characterized by selective motor neuron degeneration in the brain and spinal cord. Recent studies demonstrate that abnormalities of TDP-43 are involved in the pathomechanism of neurodegeneration in ALS. To elucidate the pathomechanism of TDP-43-induced neurodegeneration in vivo, we employed Drosophila melanogaster to model ALS because of its advantage in suitability for genetic-screening. We identified autophagy-related genes such as Atg6 and Atg12 as modifiers of neurodegeneration in ALS model flies expressing TDP-43. Our results suggest that the autophagy-mediated protein degradation pathway is involved in TDP-43-induced neurodegeneration in ALS.
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