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Bonifacino T, Cattaneo L, Gallia E, Puliti A, Melone M, Provenzano F, Bossi S, Musante I, Usai C, Conti F, Bonanno G, Milanese M. In-vivo effects of knocking-down metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 in the SOD1 G93A mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Neuropharmacology 2017. [PMID: 28645622 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2017.06.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder due to loss of upper and lower motor neurons (MNs). The mechanisms of neuronal death are largely unknown, thus prejudicing the successful pharmacological treatment. One major cause for MN degeneration in ALS is represented by glutamate(Glu)-mediated excitotoxicity. We have previously reported that activation of Group I metabotropic Glu receptors (mGluR1 and mGluR5) at glutamatergic spinal cord nerve terminals produces abnormal Glu release in the widely studied SOD1G93A mouse model of ALS. We also demonstrated that halving mGluR1 expression in the SOD1G93A mouse had a positive impact on survival, disease onset, disease progression, and on a number of cellular and biochemical readouts of ALS. We generated here SOD1G93A mice with reduced expression of mGluR5 (SOD1G93AGrm5-/+) by crossing the SOD1G93A mutant mouse with the mGluR5 heterozigous Grm5-/+ mouse. SOD1G93AGrm5-/+ mice showed prolonged survival probability and delayed pathology onset. These effects were associated to enhanced number of preserved MNs, decreased astrocyte and microglia activation, reduced cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration, and regularization of abnormal Glu release in the spinal cord of SOD1G93AGrm5-/+ mice. Unexpectedly, only male SOD1G93AGrm5-/+ mice showed improved motor skills during disease progression vs. SOD1G93A mice, while SOD1G93AGrm5-/+ females did not. These results demonstrate that a lower constitutive level of mGluR5 has a significant positive impact in mice with ALS and support the idea that blocking Group I mGluRs may represent a potentially effective pharmacological approach to the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiziana Bonifacino
- Department of Pharmacy, Unit of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Genoa Viale Cembrano, 4 - 16148, Genoa, Italy
| | - Luca Cattaneo
- Department of Pharmacy, Unit of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Genoa Viale Cembrano, 4 - 16148, Genoa, Italy
| | - Elena Gallia
- Department of Pharmacy, Unit of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Genoa Viale Cembrano, 4 - 16148, Genoa, Italy
| | - Aldamaria Puliti
- Department of Pharmacy, Unit of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Genoa Viale Cembrano, 4 - 16148, Genoa, Italy; Medical Genetics Unit, Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Via G. Gaslini, 5 - 16147, Genoa, Italy; Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Research, University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV, 9 - 16132, Genoa, Italy
| | - Marcello Melone
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Section of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Tronto 10/a - 60126, Torrette di Ancona, Ancona, Italy; Centre for Neurobiology of Aging, INRCA IRCCS, Via S.Margherita, 5 - 60124, Ancona, Italy
| | - Francesca Provenzano
- Department of Pharmacy, Unit of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Genoa Viale Cembrano, 4 - 16148, Genoa, Italy
| | - Simone Bossi
- Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics and Maternal and Child Health, L.go P. Daneo, 3 - 16132, Genoa, Italy
| | - Ilaria Musante
- Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics and Maternal and Child Health, L.go P. Daneo, 3 - 16132, Genoa, Italy
| | - Cesare Usai
- Institute of Biophysics, National Research Council (CNR), Via Darini, 6 - Torre di Francia, 16149, Genoa, Italy
| | - Fiorenzo Conti
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Section of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Tronto 10/a - 60126, Torrette di Ancona, Ancona, Italy; Centre for Neurobiology of Aging, INRCA IRCCS, Via S.Margherita, 5 - 60124, Ancona, Italy
| | - Giambattista Bonanno
- Department of Pharmacy, Unit of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Genoa Viale Cembrano, 4 - 16148, Genoa, Italy; Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Research, University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV, 9 - 16132, Genoa, Italy.
| | - Marco Milanese
- Department of Pharmacy, Unit of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Genoa Viale Cembrano, 4 - 16148, Genoa, Italy; Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Research, University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV, 9 - 16132, Genoa, Italy
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Leuzy A, Zimmer ER, Dubois J, Pruessner J, Cooperman C, Soucy JP, Kostikov A, Schirmaccher E, Désautels R, Gauthier S, Rosa-Neto P. In vivo characterization of metabotropic glutamate receptor type 5 abnormalities in behavioral variant FTD. Brain Struct Funct 2016; 221:1387-402. [PMID: 25596865 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-014-0978-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2014] [Accepted: 12/22/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Although the pathogenesis underlying behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) has yet to be fully understood, glutamatergic abnormalities have been hypothesized to play an important role. The aim of the present study was to determine the availability of the metabotropic glutamate receptor type 5 (mGluR5) using a novel positron emission tomography (PET) radiopharmaceutical with high selectivity for mGluR5 ([(11)C]ABP688) in a sample of bvFTD patients. In addition, we sought to determine the overlap between availability of mGluR5 and neurodegeneration, as measured using [(18)F]FDG-PET and voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Availability of mGluR5 and glucose metabolism ([(18)F]FDG) were measured in bvFTD (n = 5) and cognitively normal (CN) subjects (n = 10). [(11)C]ABP688 binding potential maps (BPND) were calculated using the cerebellum as a reference region, with [(18)F]FDG standardized uptake ratio maps (SUVR) normalized to the pons. Grey matter (GM) concentrations were determined using VBM. Voxel-based group differences were obtained using RMINC. BvFTD patients showed widespread decrements in [(11)C]ABP688 BPND throughout frontal, temporal and subcortical areas. These areas were likewise characterized by significant hypometabolism and GM loss, with overlap between reduced [(11)C]ABP688 BPND and hypometabolism superior to that for GM atrophy. Several regions were characterized only by decreased binding of [(11)C]ABP688. The present findings represent the first in vivo report of decreased availability of mGluR5 in bvFTD. This study suggests that glutamate excitotoxicity may play a role in the pathogenesis of bvFTD and that [(11)C]ABP688 may prove a suitable marker of glutamatergic neurotransmission in vivo.
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