Skip to main content

Protective Role of Glial Heat Shock Proteins in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Heat Shock Proteins in Neuroscience

Part of the book series: Heat Shock Proteins ((HESP,volume 20))

Abstract

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a complex neurodegenerative disease in which multiple cell types and cellular pathways play a role. A pathological hallmark of neurodegenerative disorders, including ALS, is the presence of intracellular aggregates. Heat Shock Proteins (Hsp) are a family of protein chaperones that normally play a key role in protein homeostasis, acting to prevent aggregation of misfolded proteins. In ALS, Hsp are sequestered into aggregates, creating a cytosolic deficit in Hsp availability and function, thereby reducing their ability to respond to cell stress and prevent aggregation of misfolded proteins. Furthermore, not only is the neuronal support normally provided by surrounding glial cells lost ALS, but glia actively contribute towards motor neuron degeneration. Here, we discuss the possibility that dysfunction of Hsp in glia may contribute to non-cell autonomous mechanisms of motor neuron death in ALS, for example by exacerbating inflammatory signalling in glia. Since motor neurons are unable to upregulate Hsp in response to stress, it is possible they rely on surrounding glia to provide them with Hsp, and this support may be lost in ALS. Therefore, therapeutic approaches that augment Hsp levels may have neuroprotective effects on motor neurons and may correct ALS-induced deficits in glia.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Abbreviations

ALS:

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

FUS:

fused in sarcoma protein

HSF-1:

heat shock factor-1

Hsp:

heat shock protein and heat shock proteins

HSR:

heat shock response

NF-κB:

nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells

SOD1:

superoxide dismutase-1

TDP-43:

transactive response DNA binding protein 43 kDa

References

Download references

Acknowledgements

BC is in receipt of a Studentship from the MRC Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases. LG is the Graham Watts Senior Research Fellow supported by the Brain Research Trust.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bernadett Kalmar .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Clarke, B.E., Kalmar, B., Greensmith, L. (2019). Protective Role of Glial Heat Shock Proteins in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. In: Asea, A., Kaur, P. (eds) Heat Shock Proteins in Neuroscience. Heat Shock Proteins, vol 20. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24285-5_11

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics