Excitotoxicity and ALS: New therapy targets an old mechanism

Hannah Louise Smith; Helena Chaytow; Thomas Henry Gillingwater

doi:10.1016/j.xcrm.2024.101423

Excitotoxicity and ALS: New therapy targets an old mechanism

Cell Rep Med. 2024 Feb 20;5(2):101423. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2024.101423.

Authors

Hannah Louise Smith¹, Helena Chaytow¹, Thomas Henry Gillingwater²

Affiliations

¹ Edinburgh Medical School: Biomedical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Euan MacDonald Centre for Motor Neuron Disease Research, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
² Edinburgh Medical School: Biomedical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Euan MacDonald Centre for Motor Neuron Disease Research, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. Electronic address: t.gillingwater@ed.ac.uk.

Abstract

Excitotoxicity-induced cell death in motor neurons is a major therapeutic target for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Yan et al.¹ present a novel compound to specifically disrupt extra-synaptic NMDAR complexes, extending the lifespan of the SOD1^G93A ALS mouse and ameliorating cell death.

MeSH terms

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis* / drug therapy
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis* / genetics
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis* / metabolism
Animals
Disease Models, Animal
Mice
Mice, Transgenic
Motor Neurons / metabolism
Superoxide Dismutase / metabolism

Substances

Superoxide Dismutase