β-N-methylamino-L-alanine induces changes in both GSK3 and TDP-43 in human neuroblastoma

Abstract

β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (L-BMAA) is a neurotoxic amino acid produced by most cyanobacteria, which are extensively distributed in different environments all over the world. L-BMAA has been linked to a variety of neurodegenerative diseases. This work aims to analyze the toxicological action of L-BMAA related to alterations observed in different neurodegenerative illness as Alzheimer disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Our results demonstrate that neuroblastoma cells treated with L-BMAA show an increase in glycogen synthase kinase 3 β (GSk3β) and induce accumulation of TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) truncated forms (C-terminal fragments), phosphorylated  and high molecular weight forms of TDP-43, that appears frequently in some neurodegenerative diseases.