Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:1.14.16.2 (tyrosine hydroxylase)
 14,760 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has previously been shown to display neuroprotective effects following ischemia, suggesting that VEGF may potentially be applied as a neuroprotective agent for the treatment of other neurological diseases. In this study, we investigated the neuroprotective capacity of VEGF in a model of Parkinson's disease. VEGF was found to be neuroprotective against cell death of primary E14 murine ventral mesencephalic neurons induced by 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) treatment in vitro. Further, rats receiving a continuous infusion of VEGF into the striatum via encapsulated hVEGF-secreting cells (baby hamster kidney-VEGF) displayed a significant decrease in amphetamine-induced rotational behavior and a significant preservation of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons and fibers compared with control animals. VEGF likely functions via direct mechanisms by signaling through the neuropilin receptor expressed upon dopaminergic neurons in response to 6-OHDA treatment. Further, VEGF is likely to promote neuroprotection indirectly by activating the proliferation of glia and by promoting angiogenesis. Our results support a potential neuroprotective role for VEGF in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
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PMID:Neuroprotective effects of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) upon dopaminergic neurons in a rat model of Parkinson's disease. 1506 46

The recreational use of the psychoactive drug, methamphetamine has increased markedly over the last three decades. It has long been known that this drug has detrimental effects upon the mammalian brain monoaminergic system, but the long- or short-term effects on the retina, a neurological extension of the central nervous system, have received little attention. The aim of this study was, therefore, to determine whether intraocular injection of methamphetamine (MA) is toxic to the healthy adult rat retina and to analyse its effects on the compromised retina after an injection of the ionotropic glutamate receptor agonist, kainate, which is known to cause retinal neuropathology. The equivalent of 1 mM (in the vitreous humour) MA and/or kainate (40 microM) were injected intravitreally. Flash electroretinograms (ERGs) were recorded before and 2 and 4 days after treatment. Five days after treatment, animals were killed and the retinas analysed either for the immunohistochemical localisation of various antigens or for electrophoresis/Western blotting. Some animals were kept for 19 days after treatment and the retinas analysed for tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity. No differences could be found between vehicle- and MA-treated retinas with respect to the nature or localisation of either tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity after 5 or 19 days or other antigens after 5 days. Moreover, the normal ERG and GFAP and calretinin protein antigens were unaffected by MA. Kainate treatment, however, caused a change in the ERGs after 2 and 4 days, an alteration in every antigen localised by immunohistochemistry and an increase in the retinal levels of calretinin and GFAP proteins. Significantly, the changes seen in the b-wave amplitude and implicit time of the ERG after 4 days and the increased level of GFAP protein after 5 days following kainate treatment were enhanced when MA was co-injected. Intravitreal injection of methamphetamine had no detectable detrimental effect on the normal adult rat retina but exacerbated the damaging effects of kainic acid. Such data suggest that a neurotoxic effect of MA may be more obviously illustrated when the tissue is already compromised as occurs in, for example, ischemia.
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PMID:Methamphetamine exacerbates the toxic effect of kainic acid in the adult rat retina. 1538 Jun 23

Oxidative stress plays an important role in neuronal death in neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and Huntington's disease (HD). Animal models of PD or HD, produced by administration of the mitochondrial toxins 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) or 3-nitropropionic acid (3NP), respectively, show increased free radical generation. Free radicals generated in biological systems can react with spin-trapping compounds, such as nitrones, to form stable adducts. In recent years, the utility of nitrones has moved beyond analytical applications and into the realm of neuroprotection as antioxidants in both brain ischemia and models of neurodegenerative diseases. In the present study, we administered a new nitrone antioxidant, stilbazulenyl nitrone (STAZN), with either MPTP or 3NP. STAZN attenuated MPTP-induced striatal dopamine depletion by 40% and showed a tendency to dose-dependent neuroprotection. STAZN dose-dependently protected against loss of tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. STAZN reduced the striatal lesion volume caused by systemic 3NP administration from 44 +/- 9 to 20 +/- 6 mm(3). The lipid peroxidation marker, malondialdehyde(MDA), was significantly increased in the striatum, cortex, and cerebellum of rats after administration of 3NP. These increases were blocked by co-injection of STAZN. Our data provide further evidence that STAZN is a neuroprotective free radical spin trap, and suggest that the development of new antioxidants will broaden our therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative diseases.
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PMID:A novel azulenyl nitrone antioxidant protects against MPTP and 3-nitropropionic acid neurotoxicities. 1558 15

Developing cerebral infarction obscures the relationship of neurons to their local supply microvessels. We tested the notion that in the basal ganglia (i) an ordered relationship between neurons and their nearest neighboring microvessel exists, and (ii) focal ischemia predictably affects neuron integrity based on microvessel-neuron proximity. Distances between individual microvessels and their nearest neurons ([m-n distance]s) were measured in normal primates and ischemic subjects undergoing middle cerebral artery occlusion for 2 hours. An ordered microvessel-neuron relationship exists in the normal nonischemic basal ganglia within the early hours of focal ischemia. During ischemia normal (n) and sensitive (n*) neurons are interspersed. On average, neurons more distant from their nearest microvessel are most sensitive ([m-n distance]=16.2+/-11.2 microm versus [m-n* distance]=22.2+/-13.0 microm, 2P<0.00000001). Neurons not expressing glutamic acid decarboxylase were more likely to be sensitive than those with a normal microvessel-neuron relationship. In contrast, the [m-n distance] distribution of injured tyrosine hydroxylase-containing neurons was similar to those without tyrosine hydroxylase. Hence, the [m-n distance] relationship in the normal and ischemic basal ganglia is highly ordered, and distant neurons are consistently perturbed by ischemia, although this is not uniformly dependent on neurotransmitter type.
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PMID:Focal cerebral ischemia preferentially affects neurons distant from their neighboring microvessels. 1567 27

The aim of the present study was to determine hypoxia-induced changes in the long-term expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) mRNA and the steady-state dopamine (DA) levels in rat mesencephalic cell cultures. The cultures were exposed to hypoxia during the early developmental period, and DA content and TH mRNA expression were determined on day in vitro (DIV) 14. Hypoxic exposure of 5-day-old cultures resulted in increased DA (control 89.9+/-8.9, hypoxia 135.8+/-23.7 pg/microg protein) and TH mRNA (control 37.3+/-4.7, hypoxia 143.1+/-49.4 pg/microg RNA) levels. To analyze the involvement of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) in these changes, we studied its activation using reporter gene. Hypoxia caused a 3-fold increase in HIF-1 activity. Our data suggest that hypoxia/ischemia during the putative critical developmental period of neurons may determine the tyrosine hydroxylase gene expression and, consequently, the development of the dopaminergic system.
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PMID:Hypoxia-induced long-term increase of dopamine and tyrosine hydroxylase mRNA levels. 1578 55

Brain injury as a result of hypoxia-ischemia remains a common cause of morbidity and mortality in neonates. No effective therapy is currently available. The hematopoietic cytokine erythropoietin (Epo) provides neuroprotection in many adult models of brain injury and is currently being investigated as a therapeutic agent for human stroke and spinal cord injury. We tested the hypothesis that recombinant Epo (rEpo) would improve neurobehavioral outcomes after neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury. Postnatal day 7 rats underwent right common carotid artery occlusion followed by a 90-min exposure to 8% oxygen. Rats were subsequently treated with rEpo or placebo. Sensory neglect and apomorphine-induced rotation were measured at P27 and P28. Rats were killed at P30, blood was drawn, and the brains were perfusion-fixed for histology and immunohistochemistry. No differences in gross brain injury between rEpo and placebo-treated rats were found. Neonatal rEpo treatment protected dopamine neurons as indicated by the preservation of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cells in the substantia nigra pars compacta and ventral tegmental area. rEpo treatment also improved functional outcomes by reducing sensory neglect and preventing the rotational asymmetry seen in control animals. No differences in hematocrit, white blood cell counts, neutrophil counts, or platelet counts were measured. We observed that rEpo treatment protected mesencephalic dopamine neurons and reduced the degree of behavioral asymmetries at 4 wk of life. On the basis of these findings, we conclude that further studies investigating the safety and efficacy of high-dose rEpo as a neuroprotective strategy are indicated in neonatal models of hypoxic-ischemic brain injury.
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PMID:Erythropoietin protects dopaminergic neurons and improves neurobehavioral outcomes in juvenile rats after neonatal hypoxia-ischemia. 1605 37

TCH-346, an anti-apoptotic compound, is under development by Novartis for the potential treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) and motor neuron disease [271447,342937]. By September 1999, phase I clinical trials for PD were underway [342937]. The compound was discovered in a screen for molecules with both norepinephrine uptake and MAO inhibiting properties but, although it had anti-apoptotic properties, it did not inhibit MAOA or MAO-B [333136,332004]. The compound increases lifespan in the progressive motorneuropathy mouse model and prevents ischemia in models of ischemia and seizure [288893]. In vivo, it shows neurorescuing and anti-apoptotic properties in PC12 cells and cerebellar granule cells, among others, at concentrations of 0.1 pM to 10 microM, suggesting that its action might prove potentially useful against Alzheimer's and/or Parkinson's disease [332004]. The compound has also shown neurorescuing properties in rat pups after axotomy, rat hippocampal CA1 neurons after transient ischemia/hypoxia and mouse nigral dopaminergic (DA) neurons after treatment with MPTP in doses ranging between 0.0003 and 0.1 mg/kg po or sc, depending on the model [333136]. Data presented by the University of Nijmengen and the Free University of Amsterdam show that TCH-346 improves the behavioral and enzymatic outcome in the rat 6-OH-dopamine model of Parkinson's disease. TCH-346 (0.0014 mg/kg sc bid) prevented abnormal stepping (open field test) and prevented increases in fore and hind-paw retraction time. TCH-346 also improved acquisition in the Morris water maze task and, at doses between 0.0014 and 0.14 mg/kg, prevented reduction in tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity [345259]. Affinity binding studies with TCH-346 showed that GAPDH is the target [294902,283200]. Differential display RT-PCR also showed that protein-isoaspartyl-methyl transferase is induced by the drug [283200].
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PMID:TCH-346 (Novartis). 1610 Jun 86

Bilateral carotid artery occlusion (BCAO) followed by exposure to a hypoxic condition (8% oxygen for 10 or 15 min) was performed in postnatal day 4 SD rats. Brain injury and myelination changes were examined on postnatal day 21 (P21) and tests for neurobehavioral toxicity were performed from P3 to P21. BCAO followed by 10 or 15 min hypoxic insult resulted in mild and severe, respectively, brain injury, reduction in mature oligodendrocytes and tyrosine hydroxylase positive neurons and impaired myelination as indicated by decreased myelin basic protein immunostaining in the P21 rat brain. Hypoxia-ischemia also affected physical development (body weight gain and eye opening) and neurobehavioral performance, such as righting reflex, wire hanging maneuver, cliff avoidance, locomotor activity, gait analysis, responses in the elevated plus-maze and passive avoidance. BCAO followed by 15 min of hypoxia caused more severely impaired neurobehavioral performance as compared with BCAO followed by 10 min of hypoxia in the rat. The overall results demonstrate that hypoxia-ischemia-induced brain injury not only persists, but also is linked with neurobehavioral deficits in juvenile rats. The present data also indicate that the degree of brain injury and the deficits of neurobehavioral performance in the rat are dependent on the hypoxic-ischemic condition, i.e., the exposure time to hypoxia.
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PMID:Hypoxia-ischemia induced neurological dysfunction and brain injury in the neonatal rat. 1614 Apr 3

Aquaporins are involved in the maintenance of ionic and osmotic balance in the central nervous system and in the eye. Whereas the expression of aquaporin-9 immunoreactivity in the brain has been described for catecholaminergic neurons and glial cells, the expression of aquaporin-9 in the neural retina is unclear. We examined the distribution of aquaporin-1 and -9 immunoreactivities in retinas of the rat. Aquaporin-9 immunoreactivity was expressed exclusively by tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) positive amacrine cells, while aquaporin-1 immunoreactivity was expressed by photoreceptor cells and by TH negative amacrine cells. The staining pattern of aquaporin-9 did not change up to 4 weeks after pressure-induced transient retinal ischemia. It is concluded that catecholaminergic, putatively dopaminergic, amacrine cells of the retina express aquaporin-9.
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PMID:Expression of aquaporin-9 immunoreactivity by catecholaminergic amacrine cells in the rat retina. 1644 30

To investigate whether minocycline provides long-lasting protection against neonatal hypoxia-ischemia-induced brain injury and neurobehavioral deficits, minocycline was administered intraperitoneally in postnatal day 4 Sprague-Dawley rats subjected to bilateral carotid artery occlusion followed by exposure to hypoxia (8% oxygen for 15 min). Brain injury and myelination were examined on postnatal day 21 (P21) and tests for neurobehavioral toxicity were performed from P3 to P21. Hypoxic-ischemic insults resulted in severe white matter injury, enlarged ventricles, deficits in the hippocampus, reduction in numbers of mature oligodendrocytes and tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons, damage to axons and dendrites, and impaired myelination, as indicated by the decrease in myelin basic protein immunostaining in the P21 rat brain. Hypoxic-ischemic insult also significantly affected physical development (body weight gain and eye opening) and neurobehavioral performance, including sensorimotor and locomotor function, anxiety and cognitive ability in the P21 rat. Treatments with minocycline significantly attenuated the hypoxia-ischemia-induced brain injury and improved neurobehavioral performance. The protection of minocycline was associated with its ability to reduce microglial activation. The present results show that minocycline has long-lasting protective effects in the neonatal rat brain in terms of both hypoxia-ischemia-induced brain injury and the associated neurological dysfunction.
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PMID:Minocycline attenuates hypoxia-ischemia-induced neurological dysfunction and brain injury in the juvenile rat. 1683 39


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