An intricate interplay between astrocytes and motor neurons in ALS

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) results from the selective and progressive degeneration of motor neurons. Although the underlying disease mechanisms remain unknown, glial cells have been implicated in ALS disease progression. Here we examine the effects of glial cell/motor neuron interactions on gene expression, using the hSOD1G93A mouse model of ALS. We detect striking cell autonomous and non-autonomous changes in gene expression in co-cultured motor neurons and glia, revealing that the two cell types profoundly affect each other. In addition, we found a remarkable concordance between the cell culture data, expression profiles of whole spinal cords, and of acutely isolated spinal cord cells, during disease progression in the G93A mouse model, providing validation of the cell culture approach. Bioinformatics analyses identified changes in the expression of specific genes and signaling pathways that may contribute to motor neuron degeneration in ALS, among which are TGF-b signaling pathways. Overall design: RNA-seq profiles of: 1) 43 Sandwich culture samples at 3 different time points (3, 7 and 14 days), in duplicate, in different combinations of genetic background WT/SOD1_G93A mutant glia and WT/SOD1_G93A mutant neurons; 2) 16 spinal cord samples at 4 different time points, WT and SOD1_G93A mutant.

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Phatnani HP, Guarnieri P, Friedman BA, Carrasco MA, Muratet M, O'Keeffe S, Nwakeze C, Pauli-Behn F, Newberry KM, Meadows SK, Tapia JC, Myers RM, Maniatis T