Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) are adult-onset neurodegenerative diseases with overlapping clinical characteristics. They share common genetic causes and pathologic hallmarks such as TDP-43 neuronal accumulations. Recently, exome analysis identified mutations in matrin 3 (MATR3) gene in patients with familial ALS, suggesting a role for this gene in the pathogenesis of the disease. MATR3 is a nuclear matrix protein with DNA and RNA binding domains that interacts with TDP-43. To confirm the contribution of MATR3 to ALS, we studied a French cohort of 153 familial ALS or ALS/FTLD patients, without finding any variant. We conclude that mutations in MATR3 are rare in French familial ALS and ALS with FTLD patients.
Keywords: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; FTD; FTLD; Familial ALS; Frontotemporal dementia; Frontotemporal lobar degeneration; Genetic analysis; MATR3; Matrin 3; Motor neuron disease.
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