The biotoxin BMAA promotes dysfunction via distinct mechanisms in neuroblastoma and glioblastoma cells.

Abstract

Chronic exposure to the Cyanobacteria biotoxin Beta-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) has been associated with development of a sporadic form of ALS called Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/Parkinsonism-Dementia Complex (ALS/PDC), as observed within certain Indigenous populations of Guam and Japan. Studies in primate models and cell culture have supported the association of BMAA with ALS/PDC, yet the pathological mechanisms at play remain incompletely characterized, effectively stalling the development of rationally-designed therapeutics or application of preventative measures for this disease. In this study we demonstrate for the first time that sub-excitotoxic doses of BMAA modulate the canonical Wnt signaling pathway to drive cellular defects in human neuroblastoma cells, suggesting a potential mechanism by which BMAA may promote neurological disease. Further, we demonstrate here that the effects of BMAA can be reversed in cell culture by use of pharmacological modulators of the Wnt pathway, revealing the potential value of targeting this pathway therapeutically. Interestingly, our results suggest the existence of a distinct Wnt-independent mechanism activated by BMAA in glioblastoma cells, highlighting the likelihood that neurological disease may result from the cumulative effects of distinct cell-type specific mechanisms of BMAA toxicity.

• Authors: Bryan Burton, Kate Collins, Jordan Brooks, Karly Marx, Abigail Renner, Kaylei Wilcox, Ellie Moore, Keith Osowski, Jordan Riley, Jarron Rowe, Matthew Pawlus
• Journal: PloS one (PLoS One) Vol. 18 Issue 3 Pg. e0278793 ( 2023) ISSN: 1932-6203 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 36893156 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural)
• Copyright: Copyright: © 2023 Burton et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Chemical References

• beta-N-methylamino-L-alanine
• Cyanobacteria Toxins
• Amino Acids, Diamino
• Neurotoxins

Topics

• Animals
• Humans
• Glioblastoma (chemically induced)
• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (pathology)
• Cyanobacteria Toxins
• Amino Acids, Diamino (toxicity, metabolism)
• Parkinsonian Disorders
• Neuroblastoma
• Neurotoxins (toxicity)