title: Fragment C of tetanus toxin, more than a carrier. Novel perspectives in non-viral ALS gene therapy.
abstract: The non-toxic carboxy-terminal fragment of tetanus toxin heavy chain (TTC) has been implicated in the activation of cascades responsible for trophic actions and neuroprotection by inhibition of apoptosis. Previous in vitro studies have described signalling pathways that underlie the administration of TTC to neurons. We investigated whether these properties were maintained in a mouse model of neurodegenerative disease. Naked DNA encoding for TTC was injected intramuscularly and neuromuscular function and clinical behaviour were monitored until endstage in the transgenic SOD1G93A mouse model that expresses a mutant variant of human superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1). Our results indicate that TTC treatment ameliorated the decline of hindlimb muscle innervation, significantly delayed the onset of symptoms and functional deficits, improved spinal motor neuron survival, and prolonged lifespan. Furthermore, we found that caspase-1 and caspase-3 proapoptotic genes were down-regulated in the spinal cord of treated mice. Western blot analysis showed that the active form of caspase-3 was also down-regulated after TTC treatment and survival signals, such as the significant phosphorylation of serine/threonine protein kinase Akt, were also detected. These results suggest that fragment C of tetanus toxin, TTC, provides a potential therapy for neurodegenerative diseases.
authors.affiliation: LAGENBIO-I3A, Aragon's Institute of Health Sciences, University of Zaragoza, Miguel Servet 177, Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moreno-Igoa
authors.forename: Ana Cristina
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Calvo
authors.forename: Clara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Penas
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Manzano
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oliván
authors.forename: María Jesús
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Muñoz
authors.forename: Renzo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mancuso
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zaragoza
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aguilera
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Navarro
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Osta Pinzolas
mesh_terms: D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy*; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000235:genetics*; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000072105:Superoxide Dismutase-1; D013744:Tetanus Toxin / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D010446:Peptide Fragments; C000606290:SOD1 protein, human; D013744:Tetanus Toxin; C040635:tetanus toxin fragment C; C000606291:Sod1 protein, mouse; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D000072105:Superoxide Dismutase-1