The C9orf72 gene, implicated in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia, encodes a protein that functions in control of endothelin and glutamate signaling

A GGGGCC repeat expansion in the C9ORF72 (C9) gene is the most common known cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia. Several mechanisms have been proposed to account for its toxicity, including the possibility that reduced C9 protein levels contribute to disease. To investigate this possibility, we examined the effects of reduced C9 levels in several cell systems. We first showed that C9 knockdown (KD) in U87 glioblastoma cells results in striking morphological changes, including vacuolization and alterations in cell size. Unexpectedly, RNA analysis revealed changes in expression of many genes, including genes involved in endothelin (EDN) signaling and immune system pathways and multiple glutamate cycling genes (e.g., EAAT2), which were verified in several cell models, including astrocytes and brain samples from C9-positive patients. Consistent with deregulation of the glutamate cycling genes, elevated intracellular glutamate was detected in both KD cells and patient astrocytes. Importantly, levels of mRNAs encoding EDN1 and its receptors, known to be elevated in ALS, were sharply increased by C9 KD, likely resulting from an observed activation of NF-B signaling and/or a possible role of a C9 isoform in gene control.