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Inhibiting p38 MAPK alpha rescues axonal retrograde transport defects in a mouse model of ALS.

ABSTRACT: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower motor neurons. Defects in axonal transport have been observed pre-symptomatically in the SOD1G93A mouse model of ALS, and have been proposed to play a role in motor neuron degeneration as well as in other pathologies of the nervous system, such as Alzheimer's disease and hereditary neuropathies. In this study, we screen a library of small-molecule kinase inhibitors towards the identification of pharmacological enhancers of the axonal retrograde transport of signalling endosomes, which might be used to normalise the rate of this process in diseased neurons. Inhibitors of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (p38 MAPK) were identified in this screen and were found to correct deficits in axonal retrograde transport of signalling endosomes in cultured primary SOD1G93A motor neurons. In vitro knockdown experiments revealed that the alpha isoform of p38 MAPK (p38 MAPK?) was the sole isoform responsible for SOD1G93A-induced transport deficits. Furthermore, we found that acute treatment with p38 MAPK? inhibitors restored the physiological rate of axonal retrograde transport in vivo in early symptomatic SOD1G93A mice. Our findings demonstrate the pathogenic effect of p38 MAPK? on axonal retrograde transport and identify a potential therapeutic strategy for ALS.

SUBMITTER: Gibbs KL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5964181 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Inhibiting p38 MAPK alpha rescues axonal retrograde transport defects in a mouse model of ALS.

Gibbs Katherine L KL Kalmar Bernadett B Rhymes Elena R ER Fellows Alexander D AD Ahmed Mahmood M Whiting Paul P Davies Ceri H CH Greensmith Linda L Schiavo Giampietro G

Cell death & disease 20180522 6

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower motor neurons. Defects in axonal transport have been observed pre-symptomatically in the SOD1<sup>G93A</sup> mouse model of ALS, and have been proposed to play a role in motor neuron degeneration as well as in other pathologies of the nervous system, such as Alzheimer's disease and hereditary neuropathies. In this study, we screen a library of small-molecule kinase inhibitors to ...[more]

PMID: 29789529

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Project description:A hallmark property of the neurotropic alpha-herpesvirinae is the dissemination of infection to sensory and autonomic ganglia of the peripheral nervous system following an initial exposure at mucosal surfaces. The peripheral ganglia serve as the latent virus reservoir and the source of recurrent infections such as cold sores (herpes simplex virus type I) and shingles (varicella zoster virus). However, the means by which these viruses routinely invade the nervous system is not fully understood. We report that an internal virion component, the pUL37 tegument protein, has a surface region that is an essential neuroinvasion effector. Mutation of this region rendered herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and pseudorabies virus (PRV) incapable of spreading by retrograde axonal transport to peripheral ganglia both in culture and animals. By monitoring the axonal transport of individual viral particles by time-lapse fluorescence microscopy, the mutant viruses were determined to lack the characteristic sustained intracellular capsid motion along microtubules that normally traffics capsids to the neural soma. Consistent with the axonal transport deficit, the mutant viruses did not reach sites of latency in peripheral ganglia, and were avirulent. Despite this, viral propagation in peripheral tissues and in cultured epithelial cell lines remained robust. Selective elimination of retrograde delivery to the nervous system has long been sought after as a means to develop vaccines against these ubiquitous, and sometimes devastating viruses. In support of this potential, we find that HSV-1 and PRV mutated in the effector region of pUL37 evoked effective vaccination against subsequent nervous system challenges and encephalitic disease. These findings demonstrate that retrograde axonal transport of the herpesviruses occurs by a virus-directed mechanism that operates by coordinating opposing microtubule motors to favor sustained retrograde delivery of the virus to the peripheral ganglia. The ability to selectively eliminate the retrograde axonal transport mechanism from these viruses will be useful in trans-synaptic mapping studies of the mammalian nervous system, and affords a new vaccination paradigm for human and veterinary neurotropic herpesviruses.

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Inhibiting p38 MAPK alpha rescues axonal retrograde transport defects in a mouse model of ALS.

Publications

Inhibiting p38 MAPK alpha rescues axonal retrograde transport defects in a mouse model of ALS.

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