Hydrogen sulphide “a double-faced Janus” in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

• DOI: 10.14800/ttnd.749
• Publication Date: 2015-05-03T03:45:38Z
• Authors: Nicola Biagio Mer...; Alberto Cordella; Claudio Cortese; Alessandro Davoli; Alida Spalloni; Andrea Romigi; Giada Ricciardo R...; Ezia Guatteo; Patrizia Longone; Paolo Calabresi; Viviana Greco; Gabriela Cardaioli; Sergio Bernardini; Cristina Neri; Paola Sarchielli; Andrea Urbani
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; 03 medical and health sciences; 3. Good health

We have recently published a paper in Annals of Neurology entitled “Evidence of Hydrogen Sulphide involvement in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis” [1] where we reported a study performed in patients, and in a genetic model of familial ALS. The outcome of this study is an original finding: the overproduction of hydrogen sulphide (H 2 S) in the human patients and in the animal model. We also show that H 2 S is produced, mainly, by glial cells, is toxic to motor neurons and increases significantly cytosolic Ca 2+ concentration. Altogether, our data introduce H 2 S as a new contestant in the ALS-related toxic pathways, which has potential implications for innovative drug design in ALS.