TDP-43 (TAR DNA-binding protein) (1) is a highly conserved and abundantly expressed protein among the mammals and invertebrates (2, 3). The protein is located mainly in the nucleus as punctuated structures designated T-bodies (4), but it is also distributed in the cytoplasm as discrete RNA granules (5). Multiple cellular functions have been implicated to be regulated by TDP-43, which consist of but are not restricted to transcriptional repression, RNA processing including splicing, biogenesis of miRNAs, and even translation (reviewed in Refs. 6 -8). Some of these regulations have been shown to be mediated through the two RNA recognition motifs (RRM1 and RRM2) and the C-terminal glycine-rich, prion-like GQN domain (6, 7). Mutational studies have revealed that the RNA recognition motif 1 (RRM1) 3 domain contributes much of the nucleic acid binding activity, whereas the function of RRM2 is still unclear and appears to play a lesser role in RNA binding (7). Studies have also established that an intact GQN domain, which recruits additional heterogeneous ribonucleoprotein (hnRNPs), is also necessary for the splicing activity of TDP-43 (2, 9).More recently, TDP-43 has been identified as the major pathological signature protein of patients with the frontotemporal lobar degeneration with ubiquitin-positive inclusions and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (10, 11). In particular, the metabolism of TDP-43 in the diseased cells of frontotemporal lobar degeneration with ubiquitin-positive inclusions and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are misregulated, resulting in the generation of polyubiquitinated, phosphorylated, and caspase-3-cleaved species concentrated in the ubiquitinated inclusions (UBIs) in the cytoplasm and, to a much lesser extent, in the nucleus. Often accompanied with formation of the cytoplasmic UBIs is depletion of the nuclear TDP-43 (10, 11) (reviewed in Ref. 12). A causative role of TDP-43 in the pathogenesis of these diseases is substantiated genetically by the identification of Ͼ30 different mutations in its C-terminal GQN domain (reviewed in Ref. 13). The molecular basis of misregulation of the TDP-43 metabolism remains to be examined. Also unclear are the exact roles of TDP-43 in the pathogenesis of diseases with TDP-43(ϩ)UBIs. Both loss-of-function of TDP-43 and gain-of-cytotoxicity, e.g. as caused by the TDP-43(ϩ)UBIs, have been suggested to facilitate the disease initiation as well as propagation (reviewed in Refs. 6,7,12,14).Regarding the scenario of pathogenesis by loss-of-function of TDP-43, it is interesting to note that knock-out of TDP-43 expression in mice and/or Drosophila could result in defects of early embryonic developments, impairment of the motor function, and decrease of learning ability (15-19). These studies, among others, have evidenced the importance of TDP-43 in development and/or neuronal function, but they do not provide clues to the role of this protein in TDP-43 proteinopathies on the molecular level. With respect to the metabolism of TDP-43, it is interesting to note that the homeo...