Abstract
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease caused in 10% of cases by inherited mutations considered "familial". An ever-increasing amount of evidence is showing a fundamental role for RNA metabolism in ALS pathogenesis, and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) appear to play a role in ALS development. Here, we aim to investigate the expression of a panel of lncRNAs (linc-Enc1, linc-Brn1a, linc-Brn1b, linc-p21, Hottip, Tug1, Eldrr, and Fendrr) which could be implicated in early phases of ALS. Via Real-Time PCR, we assessed their expression in a murine familial model of ALS (SOD1-G93A mouse) in brain and spinal cord areas of SOD1-G93A mice in comparison with that of B6.SJL control mice, in asymptomatic (week 8) and late-stage disease (week 18). We highlighted a specific area and pathogenetic-stage deregulation in each lncRNA, with linc-p21 being deregulated in all analyzed tissues. Moreover, we analyzed the expression of their human homologues in SH-SY5Y-SOD1-WT and SH-SY5Y-SOD1-G93A, observing a profound alteration in their expression. Interestingly, the lncRNAs expression in our ALS models often resulted opposite to that observed for the lncRNAs in cancer. These evidences suggest that lncRNAs could be novel disease-modifying agents, biomarkers, or pathways affected by ALS neurodegeneration.