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| Author(s): |
Camila Miranda Lopes
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Master's Dissertation |
| Press: | Campinas, SP. |
| Institution: | Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Faculdade de Ciências Médicas |
| Defense date: | 2010-08-02 |
| Examining board members: |
Íscia Teresinha Lopes Cendes;
Roger Frigério Castilho;
Maria Luisa Paço Larson
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| Advisor: | Tiago Campos Pereira; Íscia Teresinha Lopes Cendes |
| Abstract | |
Spinocerebellar ataxia-3 (SCA3), also known as Machado-Joseph disease (MJD), belongs to a group of neurodegenerative disorders caused by expansion of a polyglutamine stretch, called polyglutamine diseases. MJD is the most frequent inherited autosomal dominant ataxia in many countries. Clinical manifestations are varied, including abnormal motor coordination and early death. The protein encoded by MJD1, ataxin-3, is an ubiquitin protease that belongs to the ubiquitin-proteasome system. The responsible for MJD is a trinucleotide repeat expansion (CAG), which leads to an elongated polyglutamine tract in the encoded ataxin-3 protein, varying from 51 to 86 glutamines. On the other hand, normal alleles range between 14 and 44. The mechanisms underlying the disease are mainly related to protein misfolding and aggregation, neuronal dysfunction followed by cell death within the affected neurons. Investigation of strategies that interfere directly with disease cytotoxic effects represents an important therapeutic approach. The objective of this study was to develop an in vitro model that presented the main expanded ataxin-3 cytotoxic effects in order to evaluate different therapeutic strategies to control these effects. The in vitro model for MJD was successfully established using the complete ataxin-3 cDNA coding 84 glutamines. We confirmed that the model presented the main phenotypic and cytotoxic effects of the disease, such as protein aggregates and induction of cell death. We investigated three therapeutic strategies aiming cell death reduction in our in vitro model. The first, using a chemical chaperone (glycerol), was designed to stabilize the native protein and help protein folding. Lithium probably acts by modulating gene expression, and it was used in order to reverse the cytotoxic effects resulted from the disease, such as neuronal dysfunction and cell death. The third strategy focused on attenuation of mitochondrial dysfunction via a mitochondrial cofactor and powerful antioxidant, coenzyme Q10. Glycerol, lithium and coenzyme Q10 increased the viability of cells expressing expanded ataxin-3 in 16%, 17% and 11%, respectively. This augmentation resulted from a decrease in cell population undergoing apoptosis. Currently, there are no effective treatments against MJD, hence the importance of studying compounds capable of reducing disease cytotoxic effects. This work established an in vitro model for MJD, well characterized, and easy to be manipulated and analyzed. This model can be further explored for therapeutic investigations and for better understanding of molecular mechanisms involved in disease pathology. Our results indicate that glycerol, lithium and coenzyme Q10 are good candidates for preventing cell death caused by expanded ataxin-3 and, therefore, further studies with these 3 compounds should be considered (AU) | |