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Updated: Sep 7, 2025

Real-Time Fluorescent Measurement of Synaptic Functions in Models of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Published on: July 16, 2021
Multiple roles for the cytoskeleton in ALS
Xinbei Liu1, Jessica L Henty-Ridilla2
1Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY 13210, United States of America.
Abstract:
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease caused by more than sixty genes identified through classic linkage analysis and new sequencing methods. Yet no clear mechanism of onset, cure, or effective treatment is known. Popular discourse classifies the proteins encoded from ALS-related genes into four disrupted processes: proteostasis, mitochondrial function and ROS, nucleic acid regulation, and cytoskeletal dynamics. Surprisingly, the mechanisms detailing the contribution of the neuronal cytoskeletal in ALS are the least explored, despite involvement in these cell processes. Eight genes directly regulate properties of cytoskeleton function and are essential for the health and survival of motor neurons, including: TUBA4A, SPAST, KIF5A, DCTN1, NF, PRPH, ALS2, and PFN1. Here we review the properties and studies exploring the contribution of each of these genes to ALS.
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