Inclusion body myositis: A view from the caenorhabditis elegans muscle

D. L. Rebolledo, A. N. Minniti, P. M. Grez, R. Fadic, R. Kohn, N. C. Inestrosa

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

Inclusion body myositis (IBM) is the most common myopathy in people over 50 years of age. It involves an inflammatory process that, paradoxically, does not respond to anti-inflammatory drugs. A key feature of IBM is the presence of amyloid-β-peptide aggregates called amyloid deposits, which are also characteristic of Alzheimer's disease. The use of animals that mimic at least some characteristics of a disease has become very important in the quest to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying this and other pathogeneses. Although there are some transgenic mouse strains that recreate some aspects of IBM, in this review, we hypothesize that the great degree of similarity between nematode and human genes known to be involved in IBM as well as the considerable conservation of biological mechanisms across species is an important feature that must be taken into consideration when deciding on the use of this nematode as a model. Straightforward laboratory techniques (culture, transformation, gene knockdown, genetic screenings, etc.) as well as anatomical, physiological, and behavioral characteristics add to the value of this model. In the present work, we review evidence that supports the use of Caenorhabditis elegans as a biological model for IBM.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)178-198
Number of pages21
JournalMolecular Neurobiology
Volume38
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2008
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Aβ peptide
  • C. elegans
  • IBM
  • Inclusion Body Myositis
  • Invertebrate models
  • Muscle
  • Myopathy

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Inclusion body myositis: A view from the caenorhabditis elegans muscle'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this