A newly identified NES sequence present in spastin regulates its subcellular localization and microtubule severing activity.

Spastin, a microtubule-severing AAA ATPase, regulates microtubule dynamics and plays important roles in cell division and neurogenesis. Mutations in the spastin-coding gene SPAST lead to neurodegenerative disorders and cause spastic paraplegia type 4. Spastin has two main isoforms, M1 and M87, that differ only in the presence or absence of 86 N-terminal amino acids and have alternative splicing variants that lack exon4.

A homozygous mutation of C12orf65 causes spastic paraplegia with optic atrophy and neuropathy (SPG55).

Background: Autosomal recessive hereditary spastic paraplegias (AR-HSP) constitute a heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative diseases involving pyramidal tracts dysfunction. The genes responsible for many types of AR-HSPs remain unknown. We attempted to identify the gene responsible for AR-HSP with optic atrophy and neuropathy.

Middle cerebellar peduncles and Pontine T2 hypointensities in ARSACS.

Background And Purpose: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of autosomal recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS) cases in Quebec and Europe was reported to show linear hypointensities in T2-weighted and Fluid Attenuated Inversion Recovery (FLAIR) images of the pons. We attempted to clarify the characteristics of the brain MRI findings in ARSACS cases.

Methods: Eight Japanese early-onset ataxia patients with ARSACS confirmed molecularly were investigated.

A novel adult case of juvenile-onset Alexander disease: complete remission of neurological symptoms for over 12 years, despite insidiously progressive cervicomedullary atrophy.

We present here a 25-year-old woman with genetically confirmed (p.R276L mutation in the GFAP gene) juvenile-onset AxD. Episodic vomiting appeared at age nine, causing anorexia and insufficient growth.

NF-κB mediates aberrant activation of HIF-1 in malignant lymphoma.

Objective: The goal of this study was to explore the molecular mechanisms of aberrant hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) activation in lymphoma cells.

Materials And Methods: We analyzed the expression of the α subunit of HIF-1 in three lymphoma cell lines and in normal CD19-positive B cells by Western blotting. To investigate the role of nuclear factor (NF)-κB in abnormal HIF-1α expression in lymphoma cells, we performed a reporter assay using HIF-1α promoter constructs that contained or lacked an NF-κB binding site.