December 14, 2006

Research Update — from ALSA’s National Office

Unwrapping Mutual Support among Nervous System Cells for ALS Therapy

Roberta Friedman, Ph.D., ALSA Research Department Information Coordinator

The ALS Association announces funding that seeks to determine the elements of a support system that nourishes neurons in order to better target therapies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease). This Association-initiated project recruits the expertise of Steven Burden, Ph.D., at New York University and collaborators at Columbia University.

Burden and colleagues are investigating the intimate relationship between the nerve cells that are literally embraced by their supportive Schwann cells. The Schwann cells wrap around the nerve output fibers, called axons, along their length. For the motor neurons, the cells that die in ALS, this is a long way. Motor axons in some instances reach three feet to connect the spinal cord to the fingers and toes.

Schwann cells serve as insulation, speeding conduction of impulses down axons to the muscles they contract. The role of Schwann cells in ALS is uncertain, and Burden and collaborator Lorna Role intend to find out more about the signals that are exchanged between the two cell types.

A signal molecule made by the motor neuron, called neuregulin-1, appears to act in Schwann cells, influencing that cell’s own signal molecule, called ErbB3. The investigators will breed genetically engineered mice to create animals that lack one or the other signal to see how the survival of both Schwann cells and the motor neurons are affected. Either or both signal molecules might turn out to provide a good target at which to aim therapeutics for ALS.

For more information about the roles of different nervous system cells in ALS please click here.