Journal
FRONTIERS IN NEUROANATOMY
Volume 10, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2016.00006
Keywords
motor neuron disease; endplate; denervation; immaturity; neurofilament; therapy
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Funding
- Italian Ministry of Health [RF-2009-1475235]
- Girotondo/ONLUS association
- Smarathon-ONLUS association
- University of Turin
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Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a recessive autosomal neuromuscular disease, representing the most common fatal pediatric pathology. Even though, classically and in a simplistic way, it is categorized as a motor neuron (MN) disease, there is an increasing general consensus that its pathogenesis is more complex than expected. In particular, neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) are affected by dramatic alterations, including immaturity, denervation and neurofilament accumulation, associated to impaired synaptic functions: these abnormalities may in turn have a detrimental effect on MN survival. Here, we provide a description of NMJ development/maintenance/maturation in physiological conditions and in SMA, focusing on pivotal molecules and on the time-course of pathological events. Moreover, since NMJs could represent an important target to be exploited for counteracting the pathology progression, we also describe several therapeutic strategies that, directly or indirectly, aim at NMJs.
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