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Sk Channel Clustering In Sod1-G93a Motoneurons, Saihari Shekar Dukkipati

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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neuromuscular disease that currently has no cure and extremely limited treatment options. The specific mechanisms that underlie motoneuron degeneration and death, which are classical features of this disease, are mostly unknown. This thesis tests the hypothesis that small-conductance calcium-activated potassium channels (SK) may be downregulated in ALS motoneurons, as suggested by computational modelling. SK channel expression was measured in spinal alpha-motoneuron cell bodies or somata of wildtype (WT) and mutant (mt) SOD1-G93A mice, a transgenic animal model of ALS. Quantitative immunohistochemical analysis of the developmental expression of SK channel isoforms SK2 and SK3 …