March 14, 2007

The ALS Association Reinforces Project for Fish Model of ALS

[QUICK SUMMARY: Supplement funds are accelerating the development of a fish model for ALS, an animal with the basic vertebrate genes and a simple nervous system in which to study the disease process and provide therapeutic targets.]

The ALS Association is providing supplemental funding to accelerate the effort to create a model of ALS in a laboratory animal of growing popularity among neurobiologists, the zebrafish. The ALS Association initiated this project, which is being carried out by investigators at Ohio State University in Columbus, Christine Beattie, Ph.D., and Arthur Burghes, Ph.D., as an important adjunct to the TREAT ALS initiative that will bring advances in ALS research rapidly to clinical trials.

Tennore Ramesh, Ph.D., a research scientist in the Beattie lab, has made significant progress toward establishing a transgenic zebrafish as a model system for investigating ALS therapies. The fish will undoubtedly allow scientists to better understand the biology of the disease process and to help design new treatments. The supplemental funding will allow the team to rapidly expand their effort in order to confirm preliminary findings.

Zebrafish are increasingly popular among developmental and neurobiologists, as the species has easily manipulated genetics, the basic vertebrate genome is present with a simple set of motor neurons and the larvae are transparent. One can literally watch as the fish develop their nervous systems and internal organs.

A powerful new tool is now going to be available with the additional funding supplied by The Association in this targeted approach to solving the disease.