The SREBP-2 transcription factor is mainly activated by low cellular cholesterol levels. However, other factors may also cause SREBP-2 activation. We have previously demonstrated activation of SREBP-2 by the polyunsaturated fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in SW620 colon cancer cells. Despite activation of SREBP-2, only a few target genes were induced and cholesterol biosynthesis was reduced. In the present study, gene expression analysis at early time points verified the previously observed SREBP-2 target gene expression pattern. Activation of SREBP-2 using siRNAs targeting Niemann Pick C1 protein (NPC1) led to increased expression of all SREBP target genes examined, indicating that activation of some SREBP-2 target genes is inhibited during DHA-treatment. Cholesterol supplementation during DHA treatment did not abolish SREBP-2 activation. We also demonstrate that activation of SREBP-2 is independent of ER stress and eIF2alpha phosphorylation, which we have previously observed in DHA-treated cells. Thapsigargin-induced ER stress repressed expression of SREBP-2 target genes, but with a different pattern than observed in DHA-treated cells. Moreover, oleic acid (OA) treatment, which does not induce ER stress in SW620 cells, led to activation of SREBP-2 and induced a target gene expression pattern similar to that of DHA-treated cells. These results indicate that DHA and OA may activate SREBP-2 and inhibit activation of SREBP-2 target genes through a mechanism independent of cholesterol level and ER stress.

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects motor neurons. In Europe, disease-causing genetic variants have been identified in 40–70% of familial ALS patients and approximately in 5% of sporadic ALS patients. In Norway, the contribution of genetic variants to ALS has not yet been studied. In light of the potential development of personalized medicine, knowledge of genetic causes of ALS in a population is becoming increasingly important. The present study provides clinical and genetic data on familial and sporadic ALS patients in a Norwegian population-based cohort. Methods: Blood samples and clinical information from ALS patients were obtained at all 17 neurological departments throughout Norway during a 2-year period. Genetic analysis of the samples involved expansion analysis of C9orf72 and exome sequencing targeting 30 known ALS-linked genes. The variants were classified using genotype-phenotype correlations and bioinformatics tools. Results: A total of 279 ALS patients were included in the study. Of these, 11.5% had one or several family members affected with ALS, whereas 88.5% had no known family history of ALS. A genetic cause of ALS was identified in 31 individuals (11.1%), among which 18 (58.1%) were familial and 13 (41.9%) were sporadic. The most common genetic cause was the C9orf72 expansion (6.8%), which was identified in 8 familial and 11 sporadic ALS patients. Pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants of SOD1 and TBK1 were identified in 10 familial and 2 sporadic cases. C9orf72 expansions dominated in patients from the Northern and Central regions, whereas SOD1 variants dominated in patients from the South-Eastern region. Conclusion: In the present study, we identified several pathogenic gene variants in both familial and sporadic ALS patients. Restricting genetic analysis to only familial cases would miss more than 40 percent of those with a disease-causing genetic variant, indicating the need for genetic analysis in sporadic cases as well.