Depletion of Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor by Disuse Muscle Atrophy Exacerbates the Degeneration of Alpha Motor Neurons in Caudal Regions Remote from the Spinal Cord Injury

• 作者: Koichi Iwatsuki Toshiki Yoshimine Yu-Ichiro Ohnishi
• 来源期刊: 神经系统科学与医药(英文)
• 学科: 医学
• 关键词: DISUSE Muscle ATROPHY Motor Neuron DEGENERATION GLIAL Cell Line-Derived NEUROTROPHIC Factor
• 年，卷（期）: 2014,（5）
• 页码范围: 214-221
• 页数: 8页
• 分类号: R74

摘要

We have been previously reported that disuse muscle atrophy exacerbates both motor neuron (MN) degeneration in caudal regions remote from a spinal cord injury, and decrease in glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) protein level in paralyzed muscle. In this study we found that disuse muscle atrophy exacerbated the decrease in GDNF protein level in the L4/5 spinal cord, which was not immunopositive for GDNF. Our results were consistent with the fact that in the lumbar spinal cord of rats with mid-thoracic contusion, GDNF expression was not detected, while expression of GDNF receptors (GFRα1 and RET) was. Our study showed that administration of exogenous recombinant GDNF into the atrophic muscle partially rescued α-MN degeneration in the L4/5 spinal cord. These results suggest that the depletion of GDNF protein by muscle atrophy exacerbates α-MN degeneration in caudal regions remote from the injury.