title: Spatial patterns of FUS-immunoreactive neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions (NCI) in neuronal intermediate filament inclusion disease (NIFID).
abstract: Neuronal intermediate filament inclusion disease (NIFID), a rare form of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), is characterized neuropathologically by focal atrophy of the frontal and temporal lobes, neuronal loss, gliosis, and neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions (NCI) containing epitopes of ubiquitin and neuronal intermediate filament (IF) proteins. Recently, the 'fused in sarcoma' (FUS) protein (encoded by the FUS gene) has been shown to be a component of the inclusions of NIFID. To further characterize FUS proteinopathy in NIFID, we studied the spatial patterns of the FUS-immunoreactive NCI in frontal and temporal cortex of 10 cases. In the cerebral cortex, sectors CA1/2 of the hippocampus, and the dentate gyrus (DG), the FUS-immunoreactive NCI were frequently clustered and the clusters were regularly distributed parallel to the tissue boundary. In a proportion of cortical gyri, cluster size of the NCI approximated to those of the columns of cells was associated with the cortico-cortical projections. There were no significant differences in the frequency of different types of spatial patterns with disease duration or disease stage. Clusters of NCI in the upper and lower cortex were significantly larger using FUS compared with phosphorylated, neurofilament heavy polypeptide (NEFH) or α-internexin (INA) immunohistochemistry (IHC). We concluded: (1) FUS-immunoreactive NCI exhibit similar spatial patterns to analogous inclusions in the tauopathies and synucleinopathies, (2) clusters of FUS-immunoreactive NCI are larger than those revealed by NEFH or ΙΝΑ, and (3) the spatial patterns of the FUS-immunoreactive NCI suggest the degeneration of the cortico-cortical projections in NIFID.
authors.affiliation: Vision Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham, UK. R.A.Armstrong@aston.ac.uk
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Armstrong
authors.forename: Marla
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gearing
authors.forename: Eileen H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Bigio
authors.forename: Felix F
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Cruz-Sanchez
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Duyckaerts
authors.forename: Ian R A
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Mackenzie
authors.forename: Robert H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.forename: Kari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Skullerud
authors.forename: Hideaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yokoo
authors.forename: Nigel J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Cairns
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D057174:Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D002479:Inclusion Bodies / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D007381:Intermediate Filament Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D034702:RNA-Binding Protein FUS / Q000378:metabolism*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D007381:Intermediate Filament Proteins; D034702:RNA-Binding Protein FUS