Researchers find new potential target against ALS
Published: Thursday, Feb 22nd 2024, 10:30
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A new discovery by researchers at the University of Zurich (UZH) could help in the fight against neurodegenerative diseases. They have identified a protein that could serve as a target for a therapy against diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
The researchers showed that a toxic accumulation of the protein NPTX2 plays a major role in ALS, as the UZH announced on Thursday. They presented their findings to the scientific community in the journal Nature.
In neurodegenerative diseases, some of the nerve cells in the brain die off. Depending on which brain region is affected, this leads to different symptoms. In ALS, a disease made famous by the "Ice Bucket Challenge", neurons in the motor cortex and spinal cord die off, causing paralysis, as the UZH explained.
In their study, the researchers led by Magdalini Polymenidou from UZH deciphered the complex mechanisms behind the death of brain cells using a cell culture model called "iNets" developed for this purpose.
They showed that the protein NPTX2 acts as a kind of link between the misbehavior of another protein called TDP-43 and the death of neurons. Lowering the concentration of NPTX2 in the neurons counteracted the degeneration.
This suggests that drugs that reduce the amount of NPTX2 could be a potential treatment strategy for ALS, according to the UZH.
The results also relate to another neurodegenerative disease known as frontotemporal dementia (FTD). In this disease, nerve cells die off in regions of the brain that are responsible for cognition, language and personality.
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