FUS ALS neurons activate major stress pathways and reduce translation as an early protective mechanism against neurodegeneration

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder causing progressive loss of motor neurons. Mutations in Fused in sarcoma (FUS) leading to its cytoplasmic mislocalization cause a subset of ALS. Under stress, mutant FUS localizes to stress granules (SGs)-cytoplasmic condensates composed of RNA and various proteins. Aberrant dynamics of SGs is linked to the pathology of ALS. Here, using motor neurons (MNs) derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells, we show that, in mutant FUS, MN dynamics of SGs is disturbed. Additionally, heat-shock response (HSR) and integrated stress response (ISR) involved in the regulation of SGs are upregulated in mutant MNs. HSR activation correlates with the amount of cytoplasmic FUS mislocalization. While inhibition of SG formation, translation, or ISR does not influence survival of FUS ALS neurons, proteotoxicity that cannot be compensated with the activation of stress pathways is the main driver of neurodegeneration in early FUS ALS.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)112025
JournalCell reports
Volume42
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - 28 Feb 2023
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85146866590

Keywords

Keywords

  • Humans, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/pathology, Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells/metabolism, Motor Neurons/metabolism, Mutation, Cytoplasm/metabolism, RNA-Binding Protein FUS/genetics