Regulation of an Axonal Guidance Protein, Neuro Navigator 3, in Amyotropic Lateral Sclerosis

Abstract

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease affecting upper and lower motor neurons. Neuron Navigator 3 (Nav3) is a member of the Navigator family of proteins that function as microtubule-binding proteins. Nav3 is primarily expressed in brain tissue and neuromuscular junctions, and is thought to play a significant role in neuron regeneration and axonal outgrowth. An unbiased proteomic study looking at ALS and control cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) identified Nav3 to be significantly upregulated in ALS compared to controls. This study aimed to validate these findings using immunohistochemistry (IHC), Real-Time PCR, and western blot to determine if Nav3 was increased in brain and spinal cord tissue from ALS patients, primary rat motor neurons, and in the SOD1G93A mouse model.