Marco Milanese
University of Genoa, Italy
Title: In-vivo and in-vitro evidence supporting the mGlu5 receptor as a pharmacological target for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Biography
Biography: Marco Milanese
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by a progressive degeneration of motor neurons (MNs). The etiology is still largely obscure, and several mechanisms have been proposed, including glutamate-mediated excitotoxicity. In this context, group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR1/5) play an active role, since their expression and functions are altered during the progression of the disease.
Behavioral, histological, and functional experiments have been performed to characterize the effects of mgluR5 modulation in both in-vivo and in-vitro ALS models. We investigated the effect of a partial or total genetic ablation of mGlu5 receptor in the SOD1G93A mouse model of ALS. We tested in-vivo the pharmacological blockade of mGluR5 by the negative allosteric modulator CTEP. Finally, we studied the effects of mGluR5 genetic or pharmacological modulation, on spinal cord astrocytes isolated from SOD1G93A mice.