Identification of p38 MAPK as a novel therapeutic target for Friedreich’s ataxia

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 5007 - 11
• Main Authors: Cotticelli, M. Grazia, Xia, Shujuan, Kaur, Avinash, Lin, Daniel, Wang, Yongping, Ruff, Eric, Tobias, John W., Wilson, Robert B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 22.03.2018; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 13; 13/106; 13/89; 631/154/1435/2417; 631/1647/2163; 631/208/1516; Ataxia; Cell culture; Cells, Cultured; Computational Biology; Enzyme Inhibitors - pharmacology; Fibroblasts; Frataxin; Friedreich Ataxia - drug therapy; Friedreich Ataxia - etiology; Friedreich Ataxia - pathology; Friedreich's ataxia; Gene expression; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Knockdown Techniques; Hereditary diseases; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Imidazoles - pharmacology; Iron-Binding Proteins - genetics; Iron-Binding Proteins - metabolism; MAP kinase; Mitochondria; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 14 - antagonists & inhibitors; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 14 - metabolism; multidisciplinary; Phenotypes; Phosphorylation; Phosphorylation - drug effects; Primary Cell Culture; Pyridines - pharmacology; RNA, Small Interfering - metabolism; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Senescence; Signal Transduction - drug effects; Signal Transduction - genetics; siRNA; Sulfur; Therapeutic applications
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-23168-x

Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is an autosomal recessive neuro- and cardio-degenerative disorder caused by decreased expression of frataxin, a protein that localizes to mitochondria and is critical for iron-sulfur-cluster (ISC) assembly. There are no proven effective treatments for FRDA. We previously screened a random shRNA library and identified a synthetic shRNA (gFA11) that reverses the growth defect of FRDA cells in culture. We now report that gFA11 decreases cytokine secretion in primary FRDA fibroblasts and reverts other changes associated with cell senescence. The gene-expression profile induced by gFA11 is remarkably similar to the gene-expression profile induced by the p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580. We found that p38 phosphorylation, indicating activation of the p38 pathway, is higher in FRDA cells than in normal control cells, and that siRNA knockdown of frataxin in normal fibroblasts also increases p38 phosphorylation. Treatment of FRDA cells with p38 inhibitors recapitulates the reversal of the slow-growth phenotype induced by clone gFA11. These data highlight the involvement of the p38 MAPK pathway in the pathogenesis of FRDA and the potential use of p38 inhibitors as a treatment for FRDA.