Glycogen accumulation underlies neurodegeneration and autophagy impairment in lafora disease

Jordi Duran, Agnès Gruart, Mar García-Rocha, José M. Delgado-García, Joan J. Guinovart*

*Autor corresponent d’aquest treball

Producció científica: Article en revista indexadaArticleAvaluat per experts

145 Cites (Scopus)

Resum

Lafora disease is a fatal neurodegenerative condition characterized by the accumulation of abnormal glycogen inclusions known as Lafora bodies. It is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in either the laforin or malin gene. To study whether glycogen is primarily responsible for the neurodegeneration in Lafora disease, we generated malin knockout mice with impaired (totally or partially) glycogen synthesis. These animals did not show the increase in markers of neurodegeneration, the impairments in electrophysiological properties of hippocampal synapses, nor the susceptibility to kainate-induced epilepsy seen in the malin knockout model. Interestingly, the autophagy impairment that has beendescribedinmalin knockout animalswasalso rescued in this double knockout model. Conversely, two other mouse models in which glycogen is over-accumulated in the brain independently of the lack of malin showed impairment in autophagy. Our findings reveal that glycogen accumulation accounts for the neurodegeneration and functional consequences seen in the malin knockout model, as well as the impaired autophagy. These results identify the regulation of glycogen synthesis as a key target for the treatment of Lafora disease.

Idioma originalAnglès
Pàgines (de-a)3147-3156
Nombre de pàgines10
RevistaHuman Molecular Genetics
Volum23
Número12
DOIs
Estat de la publicacióPublicada - 15 de juny 2014
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