%0 Journal Article
%T TDP-43 Identified from a Genome Wide RNAi Screen for SOD1 Regulators
%A Balajee R. Somalinga
%A Cameron E. Day
%A Shuguang Wei
%A Michael G. Roth
%A Philip J. Thomas
%J PLOS ONE
%D 2012
%I Public Library of Science (PLoS)
%R 10.1371/journal.pone.0035818
%X Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a late-onset, progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting motor neurons in the brain stem and spinal cord leading to loss of voluntary muscular function and ultimately, death due to respiratory failure. A subset of ALS cases are familial and associated with mutations in superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) that destabilize the protein and predispose it to aggregation. In spite of the fact that sporadic and familial forms of ALS share many common patho-physiological features, the mechanistic relationship between SOD1-associated and sporadic forms of the disease if any, is not well understood. To better understand any molecular connections, a cell-based protein folding assay was employed to screen a whole genome RNAi library for genes that regulate levels of soluble SOD1. Statistically significant hits that modulate SOD1 levels, when analyzed by pathway analysis revealed a highly ranked network containing TAR DNA binging protein (TDP-43), a major component of aggregates characteristic of sporadic ALS. Biochemical experiments confirmed the action of TDP-43 on SOD1. These results highlight an unexpected relationship between TDP-43 and SOD1 which may have implications in disease pathogenesis.
%U http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0035818