Review: Microglia in motor neuron disease.

Motor Neuron Disease (MND) is a fatal neurodegenerative condition, which is characterized by the selective loss of the upper and lower motor neurons. At the sites of motor neuron injury, accumulation of activated microglia, the primary immune cells of the central nervous system, is commonly observed in both human post mortem studies and animal models of MND. Microglial activation has been found to correlate with many clinical features and importantly, the speed of disease progression in humans. Both anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory microglial responses have been shown to influence disease progression in humans and models of MND. As such, microglia could both contribute to and protect against inflammatory mechanisms of pathogenesis in MND. While murine models have characterized the microglial response to MND, these studies have painted a complex and often contradictory picture, indicating a need for further characterization in humans. This review examines the potential role microglia play in MND in human and animal studies. Both the pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses will be addressed, throughout the course of disease, followed by the potential of microglia as a target in the development of disease-modifying treatments for MND.

TDP43 proteinopathy is associated with aberrant DNA methylation in human amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by motor neurone (MN) degeneration and death. ALS can be sporadic (sALS) or familial, with a number of associated gene mutations, including C9orf72 (C9ALS). DNA methylation is an epigenetic mechanism whereby a methyl group is attached to a cytosine (5mC), resulting in gene expression repression. 5mC can be further oxidized to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC). DNA methylation has been studied in other neurodegenerative diseases, but little work has been conducted in ALS. AIMS: To assess differences in DNA methylation in individuals with ALS and the relationship between DNA methylation and TDP43 pathology. METHODS: Post mortem tissue from controls, sALS cases and C9ALS cases were assessed by immunohistochemistry for 5mC and 5hmC in spinal cord, motor cortex and prefrontal cortex. LMNs were extracted from a subset of cases using laser capture microdissection. DNA from these underwent analysis using the MethylationEPIC array to determine which molecular processes were most affected. RESULTS: There were higher levels of 5mC and 5hmC in sALS and C9ALS in the residual lower motor neurones (LMNs) of the spinal cord. Importantly, in LMNs with TDP43 pathology there was less nuclear 5mC and 5hmC compared to the majority of residual LMNs that lacked TDP43 pathology. Enrichment analysis of the array data suggested RNA metabolism was particularly affected. CONCLUSIONS: DNA methylation is a contributory factor in ALS LMN pathology. This is not so for glia or neocortical neurones.