Liachko, Nicole F.McMillan, Pamela J.Strovas, Timothy J.Loomis, ElaineGreenup, LynneMurrell, Jill R.Ghetti, BernardinoRaskind, Murray A.Montine, Thomas J.Bird, Thomas D.Leverenz, James B.Kraemer, Brian C.2016-06-152016-06-152014-12-04Liachko, N. F., McMillan, P. J., Strovas, T. J., Loomis, E., Greenup, L., Murrell, J. R., … Kraemer, B. C. (2014). The Tau Tubulin Kinases TTBK1/2 Promote Accumulation of Pathological TDP-43. PLoS Genetics, 10(12), e1004803. http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004803https://hdl.handle.net/1805/9976Pathological aggregates of phosphorylated TDP-43 characterize amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD-TDP), two devastating groups of neurodegenerative disease. Kinase hyperactivity may be a consistent feature of ALS and FTLD-TDP, as phosphorylated TDP-43 is not observed in the absence of neurodegeneration. By examining changes in TDP-43 phosphorylation state, we have identified kinases controlling TDP-43 phosphorylation in a C. elegans model of ALS. In this kinome-wide survey, we identified homologs of the tau tubulin kinases 1 and 2 (TTBK1 and TTBK2), which were also identified in a prior screen for kinase modifiers of TDP-43 behavioral phenotypes. Using refined methodology, we demonstrate TTBK1 and TTBK2 directly phosphorylate TDP-43 in vitro and promote TDP-43 phosphorylation in mammalian cultured cells. TTBK1/2 overexpression drives phosphorylation and relocalization of TDP-43 from the nucleus to cytoplasmic inclusions reminiscent of neuropathologic changes in disease states. Furthermore, protein levels of TTBK1 and TTBK2 are increased in frontal cortex of FTLD-TDP patients, and TTBK1 and TTBK2 co-localize with TDP-43 inclusions in ALS spinal cord. These kinases may represent attractive targets for therapeutic intervention for TDP-43 proteinopathies such as ALS and FTLD-TDP.en-USPublisher PolicyAmyotrophic Lateral SclerosisCaenorhabditis elegansFrontotemporal DementiaProtein-Serine-Threonine KinasesArticle