Cell Reports (Sep 2024)

Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound modulates disease progression in the SOD1G93A mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

  • Zihao Liu,
  • Huan Zhang,
  • Kaili Lu,
  • Li Chen,
  • Yueqi Zhang,
  • Zhouwei Xu,
  • Hongsheng Zhou,
  • Junfeng Sun,
  • Mengyang Xu,
  • Qi Ouyang,
  • Garth J. Thompson,
  • Yi Yang,
  • Ni Su,
  • Xiaojun Cai,
  • Li Cao,
  • Yuwu Zhao,
  • Lixian Jiang,
  • Yuanyi Zheng,
  • Xiaojie Zhang

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 43, no. 9
p. 114660

Abstract

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Summary: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease characterized by the progressive loss of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, and there are no effective drug treatments. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) has garnered attention as a promising noninvasive neuromodulation method. In this study, we investigate its effects on the motor cortex and underlying mechanisms using the SOD1G93A mouse model of ALS. Our results show that LIPUS treatment delays disease onset and prolongs lifespan in ALS mice. LIPUS significantly increases cerebral blood flow in the motor cortex by preserving vascular endothelial cell integrity and increasing microvascular density, which may be mediated via the ion channel TRPV4. RNA sequencing analysis reveals that LIPUS substantially reduces the expression of genes associated with neuroinflammation. These findings suggest that LIPUS applied to the motor cortex may represent a potentially effective therapeutic tool for the treatment of ALS.

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