To study how ALS- and FTD-U-associated TDP-43 inclusions in astrocytes affect cell metabolism, in particularly LD and glucose metabolisms, we transfected primary cortical rat astrocytes with the pDNA encoding RFP-tagged C-terminal fragment of TDP-43 (RFP-TDP-43208–414), known to generate cytoplasmic inclusions in other cell types20, or with the pDNA encoding RFP-tagged WT TDP-43 (RFP-TDP-43wt). This evidence concerns the gene TARDBP and frontotemporal dementia.