title: The prostate apoptosis response-4 protein participates in motor neuron degeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
abstract: Prostate apoptosis response-4 (Par-4), a protein containing a leucine zipper domain within a death domain, is up-regulated in prostate cancer cells and hippocampal neurons induced to undergo apoptosis. Here, we report higher Par-4 levels in lumbar spinal cord samples from patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) than in lumbar spinal cord samples from neurologically normal patients. We also compared the levels of Par-4 in lumbar spinal cord samples from wild-type and transgenic mice expressing the human Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase gene with a familial ALS mutation. Relative to control samples, higher Par-4 levels were observed in lumbar spinal cord samples prepared from the transgenic mice at a time when they had hind-limb paralysis. Immunohistochemical analyses of human and mouse lumbar spinal cord sections revealed that Par-4 is localized to motor neurons in the ventral horn region. In culture studies, exposure of primary mouse spinal cord motor neurons or NSC-19 motor neuron cells to oxidative insults resulted in a rapid and large increase in Par-4 levels that preceded apoptosis. Pretreatment of the motor neuron cells with a Par-4 antisense oligonucleotide prevented oxidative stress-induced apoptosis and reversed oxidative stress-induced mitochondrial dysfunction that preceded apoptosis. Collectively, these data suggest a role for Par-4 in models of motor neuron injury relevant to ALS.
authors.affiliation: Sanders-Brown Research Center on Aging, Department of Neurology, and Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40536, USA.
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kruman
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kasarskis
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Mattson
mesh_terms: D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology*; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; D001483:Base Sequence; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006801:Humans; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000473:pathology*; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense / Q000235:genetics; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense; C101296:prostate apoptosis response-4 protein; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase