Role of viral infections in potassium channel-related cerebellar ataxia

小脑性共济失调是一种进行性神经退行性疾病，主要影响患者的日常生活。 人们，他们的家人，以及医疗保健系统。小脑性共济失调是无法治愈的，无论它是什么 起源。没有有效的治疗方法来减缓经常导致早产的症状的进展。 死亡。离子通道与几种形式的小脑性共济失调的病因有关。例如, 编码Kv3.3通道的基因KCNC3的特定突变，如G592R点突变，具有 已被确定为迟发性脊髓小脑性共济失调的潜在遗传原因。尽管如此， 对于迟发性小脑性共济失调为什么出现在某些受试者而不是所有受试者中，目前尚不清楚。 基因突变。在受影响的受试者的生命周期中， 症状就会出现。根据我们出人意料的初步观察，我们假设疾病在 易遗传的受试者是由宿主-病原体相互作用决定的，特别强调病毒 感染。具体地说，我们断言细胞内信号通路的协同激活是 以突变钾通道和病毒防御机制为靶点，损害细胞功能和 导致浦肯野细胞死亡。我们的假设和初步数据挑战了当代关于 小脑性共济失调的病因学及其对新治疗策略的启示。我们将使用以下工具来验证我们的假设 具有最先进的神经生物学、分子生物学和免疫生物学的细胞和动物模型 接近了。

Cerebellar ataxia is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with major impact on the daily life of affected people, their families, and, on the health care system. There is no cure for cerebellar ataxia regardless of its origin. There is no effective treatment to slow the progression of symptoms that frequently lead to premature death. Ion channels have been implicated in the etiology of several form of cerebellar ataxia. For example, specific mutations in KCNC3, the gene encoding the Kv3.3 channel, such as the G592R point mutation, have been identified as the underlying genetic cause of late-onset spinocerebellar ataxia. Despite of these developments, there is no understanding of why late-onset cerebellar ataxias emerge in some but not all subjects with genetic mutations. There is also great variability in when during the lifespan of the affected subjects the symptoms emerge. Based on our unexpected preliminary observations, we hypothesize that disease onset in genetically vulnerable subjects is determined by host-pathogen interactions with particular emphasis on viral infections. Specifically, we assert that the synergistic activation of an intracellular signaling pathway that is targeted by both the mutant potassium channel and by viral defense mechanisms, impairs cellular function and results in the death of Purkinje cells. Our hypothesis and preliminary data challenge contemporary views on the etiology of cerebellar ataxia with implications for novel therapeutic strategies. We will test our hypothesis using cellular- and animal models with state-of-the-art neurobiological, molecular biological and immunobiological approaches.