Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease, is a devastating progressive neurodegenerative disease that results in the death of motor neurons, the nerve cells that control muscles. Eventually, individuals with ALS will lose their ability to walk, move, swallow and breathe.<\/p>\n
Until recently, the role of astrocytes, glial cells that normally support motor neurons, in motor neuron death has been a mystery, but new research sheds new light on molecular mechanisms responsible for motor neuron death in ALS. In a study published in Nature Medicine<\/em>, researchers demonstrate the explicit loss of major histocompatibility complex I (MHCI) expression in the outer membrane of motor neurons in ALS, leading to motor neuron vulnerability to ALS astrocyte toxicity.<\/p>\n For each subtype of MHCI protein, there is a receptor that binds to it, much like a lock and key. If MCHI proteins are the keys, then killer inhibitory receptors (KIRs) are the locks. In their study, the researchers not only provide evidence of the protective effect of MHCI against astrocyte toxicity in ALS but also identify the killer inhibitory receptors (KIRs) associated with the specific subclass of MHCI (HLA-F) involved in human motor neurons.<\/p>\n