Hoffmann, R. A wiki for the life sciences where authorship matters. Nature Genetics (2008)

Editor

Personal info

View

About

Terms

Javascript disabled

Please enable Javascript support in your browser to use this application.

Instructions on how to enable JavaScript on different browsers can be found here: http://www.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=23852.

[edit this page]

Lambrechts, D. et al.

VEGF is a modifier of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in mice and humans and protects motoneurons against ischemic death.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an incurable degenerative disorder of motoneurons. We recently reported that reduced expression of Vegfa causes ALS-like motoneuron degeneration in Vegfa(delta/delta) mice. In a meta-analysis of over 900 individuals from Sweden and over 1,000 individuals from Belgium and England, we now report that subjects homozygous with respect to the haplotypes -2,578A/-1,154A/-634G or -2,578A/-1,154G/-634G in the VEGF promoter/leader sequence had a 1.8 times greater risk of ALS (P = 0.00004). These 'at-risk' haplotypes lowered circulating VEGF levels in vivo and reduced VEGF gene transcription, IRES-mediated VEGF expression and translation of a novel large-VEGF isoform (L-VEGF) in vivo. Moreover, SOD1(G93A) mice crossbred with Vegfa(delta/delta) mice died earlier due to more severe motoneuron degeneration. Vegfa(delta/delta) mice were unusually susceptible to persistent paralysis after spinal cord ischemia, and treatment with Vegfa protected mice against ischemic motoneuron death. These findings indicate that VEGF is a modifier of motoneuron degeneration in human ALS and unveil a therapeutic potential of Vegfa for stressed motoneurons in mice.[1]

References

VEGF is a modifier of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in mice and humans and protects motoneurons against ischemic death. Lambrechts, D., Storkebaum, E., Morimoto, M., Del-Favero, J., Desmet, F., Marklund, S.L., Wyns, S., Thijs, V., Andersson, J., van Marion, I., Al-Chalabi, A., Bornes, S., Musson, R., Hansen, V., Beckman, L., Adolfsson, R., Pall, H.S., Prats, H., Vermeire, S., Rutgeerts, P., Katayama, S., Awata, T., Leigh, N., Lang-Lazdunski, L., Dewerchin, M., Shaw, C., Moons, L., Vlietinck, R., Morrison, K.E., Robberecht, W., Van Broeckhoven, C., Collen, D., Andersen, P.M., Carmeliet, P. Nat. Genet. (2003) [Pubmed]

Annotations and hyperlinks in this abstract are from individual authors of WikiGenes or automatically generated by the WikiGenes Data Mining Engine. The abstract is from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.About WikiGenes Open Access Licence Privacy Policy Terms of Use apsburg

The world's first wiki where authorship really matters (Nature Genetics, 2008). Due credit and reputation for authors. Imagine a global collaborative knowledge base for original thoughts. Search thousands of articles and collaborate with scientists around the globe.