Abstract
Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) is a late-onset neurodegenerative disorder associated with premutation alleles of the FMR1 gene. Iron is essential for many facets of cell metabolism in the brain but when altered is likely to contribute to the development of neurodegenerative diseases. We previously reported that iron accumulates in the choroid plexus and the putamen in FXTAS and that the level and distribution of key iron-binding proteins are also altered, suggesting a potential alteration of iron metabolism in the brain. Here, we hypothesize that iron metabolism is also altered in the FXTAS cerebellum. To test this hypothesis, we used cerebellum samples collected from FXTAS and control subjects and measured the amount of iron contained within the cerebellar cortex and dentate nucleus. We found that the number of iron deposits increased in the cerebellum only in a subset of cases of FXTAS. This accumulation is likely to be mediated by factors other than or in addition to CGG-repeat coupled pathology. Thus, iron deposition in the cerebellum cannot be used as a hallmark of FXTAS pathogenesis.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Institute of Health grants MH094681 (Dr. Martínez-Cerdeño), HD040661 (Dr. P Hagerman), and HD036071 (covered brain collection) and by the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UC Davis and the Shriners Hospitals.
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PJH holds patents for assays of CGG-repeat expansion and for FMRP ELISA; he is also in non-remunerative collaborations with Pacific Biosciences, Inc. and Roche Diagnostics. Authors otherwise declare no conflict of interest.
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Rogers, H., Ariza, J., Monterrubio, A. et al. Cerebellar Mild Iron Accumulation in a Subset of FMR1 Premutation Carriers with FXTAS. Cerebellum 15, 641–644 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12311-016-0798-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12311-016-0798-5