PROTECTIVE FUNCTION OF SIGMA-1 RECEPTOR IN SPINAL CORD MOTOR NEURONS
T.A. Mavlyutov
Department of Neuroscience, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA;
e-mail: tamavlyutov@wisc.edu
Sigma-1 receptor plays a protective function in various tissues. It was shown recently that a mutation in the sigma-1 receptor results in appearance of Amyotrophic
Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). In the central nervous system (CNS) the the highest amounts of sigma-1 receptor are found in motoneurons of the spinal cord, where receptor is
localized in subsurface cisternae of cholinergic postsynaptic densities. The sigma-1 receptor is thought to regulate the ion channels activity and thus may influence neuron
excitability. In this review we consider the possible pathways by which the sigma-1 receptor may reduce the excitability of motoneurons and thereby play a protective
function during the progression of ALS.
Key words: sigma-1 receptor, motoneurons, subsurface cisternae, ion channels
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