Sterol regulatory element binding protein-1 (SREBP1) activation in motor neurons in excitotoxicity and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): Indip, a potential therapeutic peptide.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease of motor neurons in which glutamatergic excitotoxicity may participate. A recently characterized downstream effector of glutamatergic excitotoxicity is the activation of the lipid transcription factor sterol regulatory element binding protein-1 (SREBP1). Here we report that in spinal cord tissues of transgenic mouse model, G93A, as well as post-mortem spinal cord specimens of human familial and sporadic ALS, significant activation of SREBP1 following drastic degradation of ER membrane resident protein Insig-1. A TAT-fused short peptide (Indip) to prevent Insig-1 degradation and subsequent SREBP1 activation significantly protected cultured spinal cord neurons against glutamate-induced excitotoxicity. Indip or other SREBP1-pathway modulating compounds may prove beneficial in ALS.