# Assessment of Rab geranylgeranyltransferase subunit beta in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

## TL;DR

This study found that RABGGTB is overexpressed in monocytes and macrophages from ALS patients, but not in other immune cells.

## Contribution

The study identifies RABGGTB as a potential biomarker in monocytes and macrophages specific to ALS.

## Key findings

- RABGGTB expression was higher in monocytes and macrophages from ALS patients compared to controls and other diseases.
- No significant RABGGTB expression changes were observed in NK, T, or B cells from ALS patients.
- SOD1G93A mice showed significantly higher RABGGTB expression in monocytes than wild-type mice.

## Abstract

Geranylgeranyltransferase Subunit Beta (RABGGTB) was expressed at higher levels in patients with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) compared with healthy controls. This study aims to observe the expression of RABGGTB in different cells from patients with ALS and different diseases.

In this case–control study, we collected peripheral blood from patients with ALS and healthy controls, and compared the expression of RABGGTB in natural killer cells (NK), T cells and B cells between patients with ALS and healthy controls by flow cytometry. And compared the expression of RABGGTB in monocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages from patients with ALS, Parkinson’s disease (PD), acute cerebrovascular disease (ACVD), and healthy controls by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence. Then flow cytometry was used to detect the expression of RABGGTB in monocytes from SOD1G93A mice and WT mice.

The expression of RABGGTB was not significantly changed in NK cells, cytotoxic T cells (CTL), helper T cells (Th), regulatory T cells (Treg), and B cells from patients with ALS compared to healthy controls. And the expression of RABGGTB in monocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages was higher in the ALS group than in the PD, ACVD and control group. The expression of RABGGTB was significantly higher in monocytes of SOD1G93A mice compared to WT mice.

These findings suggest that RABGGTB expression was increased in monocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages from patients with ALS, not in NK, CTL, Th, Treg, and B cells. Future studies are needed to find the clinical implication of RABGGTB in ALS.