Scholars@Duke
Albert R La Spada

Albert R La Spada

Adjunct Professor in the Department of Neurology
Neurology, Behavioral Neurology
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Selected Publications

Nicotinamide Pathway-Dependent Sirt1 Activation Restores Calcium Homeostasis to Achieve Neuroprotection in Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 7.

Journal Article Neuron · February 19, 2020 Sirtuin 1 (Sirt1) is a NAD+-dependent deacetylase capable of countering age-related neurodegeneration, but the basis of Sirt1 neuroprotection remains elusive. Spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 (SCA7) is an inherited CAG-polyglutamine repeat disorder. Transcrip ... Full text Link to item Cite

TFEB dysregulation as a driver of autophagy dysfunction in neurodegenerative disease: Molecular mechanisms, cellular processes, and emerging therapeutic opportunities.

Journal Article Neurobiol Dis · February 2019 Two decades ago, the recognition of protein misfolding and aggregate accumulation as defining features of neurodegenerative disease set the stage for a thorough examination of how protein quality control is maintained in neurons and in other non-neuronal c ... Full text Link to item Cite

Metabolic and Organelle Morphology Defects in Mice and Human Patients Define Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 7 as a Mitochondrial Disease.

Journal Article Cell Rep · January 29, 2019 Spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 (SCA7) is a retinal-cerebellar degenerative disorder caused by CAG-polyglutamine (polyQ) repeat expansions in the ataxin-7 gene. As many SCA7 clinical phenotypes occur in mitochondrial disorders, and magnetic resonance spectro ... Full text Link to item Cite

CCP1 promotes mitochondrial fusion and motility to prevent Purkinje cell neuron loss in pcd mice.

Journal Article J Cell Biol · January 7, 2019 A perplexing question in neurodegeneration is why different neurons degenerate. The Purkinje cell degeneration (pcd) mouse displays a dramatic phenotype of degeneration of cerebellar Purkinje cells. Loss of CCP1/Nna1 deglutamylation of tubulin accounts for ... Full text Link to item Cite

Antisense oligonucleotides targeting mutant Ataxin-7 restore visual function in a mouse model of spinocerebellar ataxia type 7.

Journal Article Sci Transl Med · October 31, 2018 Spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 (SCA7) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cerebellar and retinal degeneration, and is caused by a CAG-polyglutamine repeat expansion in the ATAXIN-7 gene. Patients with SCA7 develop progressiv ... Full text Link to item Cite

Converging pathways in neurodegeneration, from genetics to mechanisms.

Journal Article Nat Neurosci · October 2018 Neurodegenerative diseases cause progressive loss of cognitive and/or motor function and pose major challenges for societies with rapidly aging populations. Human genetics studies have shown that disease-causing rare mutations and risk-associated common al ... Full text Link to item Cite

Senataxin mutations elicit motor neuron degeneration phenotypes and yield TDP-43 mislocalization in ALS4 mice and human patients.

Journal Article Acta Neuropathol · September 2018 Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis type 4 (ALS4) is a rare, early-onset, autosomal dominant form of ALS, characterized by slow disease progression and sparing of respiratory musculature. Dominant, gain-of-function mutations in the senataxin gene (SETX) cause AL ... Full text Link to item Cite

MAP4K3 mediates amino acid-dependent regulation of autophagy via phosphorylation of TFEB.

Journal Article Nat Commun · March 5, 2018 Autophagy is the major cellular pathway by which macromolecules are degraded, and amino acid depletion powerfully activates autophagy. MAP4K3, or germinal-center kinase-like kinase, is required for robust cell growth in response to amino acids, but the bas ... Full text Link to item Cite

Senataxin, A Novel Helicase at the Interface of RNA Transcriptome Regulation and Neurobiology: From Normal Function to Pathological Roles in Motor Neuron Disease and Cerebellar Degeneration.

Journal Article Adv Neurobiol · 2018 Senataxin (SETX) is a DNA-RNA helicase whose C-terminal region shows homology to the helicase domain of the yeast protein Sen1p. Genetic discoveries have established the importance of SETX for neural function, as recessive mutations in the SETX gene cause ... Full text Link to item Cite