title: Autoimmunity in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: past and present.
abstract: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease affecting particularly motor neurons for which no cure or effective treatment is available. Although the cause of ALS remains unknown, accumulative evidence suggests an autoimmune mechanism of pathogenesis. In this paper, we will summarize the current research related to autoimmunity in the sporadic form of ALS and discuss the potential underlying pathogenic mechanisms and perspectives. Presented data supports the view that humoral immune responses against motor nerve terminals can initiate a series of physiological changes leading to alteration of calcium homeostasis. In turn, loss of calcium homeostasis may induce neuronal death through apoptotic signaling pathways. Additional approaches identifying specific molecular features of this hypothesis are required, which will hopefully allow us to develop techniques of early diagnosis and effective therapies.
authors.affiliation: Systems Neuroscience Section, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires, C1121ABG Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Mario Rafael
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Pagani
authors.forename: Laura Elisabeth
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.forename: Osvaldo Daniel
authors.initials: OD
authors.lastname: Uchitel