title: ALS and oxidative stress: the neurovascular scenario.
abstract: Oxidative stress and angiogenic factors have been placed as the prime focus of scientific investigations after an establishment of link between vascular endothelial growth factor promoter (VEGF), hypoxia, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) pathogenesis. Deletion of the hypoxia-response element in the vascular endothelial growth factor promoter and mutant superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) which are characterised by atrophy and muscle weakness resulted in phenotype resembling human ALS in mice. This results in lower motor neurodegeneration thus establishing an important link between motor neuron degeneration, vasculature, and angiogenic molecules. In this review, we have presented human, animal, and in vitro studies which suggest that molecules like VEGF have a therapeutic, diagnostic, and prognostic potential in ALS. Involvement of vascular growth factors and hypoxia response elements also highlights the converging role of oxidative stress and neurovascular network for understanding and treatment of various neurodegenerative disorders like ALS.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Lab, Department of Neurology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Sector 12, Chandigarh 160012, India.
authors.forename: Akshay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Anand
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Lab, Department of Neurology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Sector 12, Chandigarh 160012, India.
authors.forename: Keshav
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thakur
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Lab, Department of Neurology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Sector 12, Chandigarh 160012, India.
authors.forename: Pawan Kumar
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Gupta
mesh_terms: D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000473:pathology*; D000818:Animals; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009420:Nervous System / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000473:pathology*; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A