TDP-43 mutation in familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder. Accumulating evidence has shown that 43kDa TAR-DNA-binding protein (TDP-43) is the disease protein in ALS and frontotemporal lobar degeneration. We previously reported a familial ALS with Bumina bodies and TDP-43-positive skein-like inclusions in the lower motor neurons; these findings are indistinguishable from those of sporadic ALS. In three affected individuals in two generations of one family, we found a single base-pair change from A to G at position 1028 in TDP-43, which resulted in a Gln-to-Arg substitution at position 343. Our findings provide a new insight into the molecular pathogenesis of ALS.