Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:1.4.1.2 (glutamate dehydrogenase)
 4,380 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is the etiological agent involved in the disease HTLV-1-associated myelopathy, or tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). The pathogenesis of HAM/TSP is poorly understood, but it is probable that viral infection has an indirect, deleterious effect on neural function. In this regard, dysfunction in astrocytes may be severely detrimental, as they supply neurons with metabolic precursors, control the extracellular levels of ion and excitatory neurotransmitters, and are electrically coupled with oligodendrocytes. In a model in vitro, we demonstrate that HTLV-1 induces an imbalance in the expression of two astrocyte enzymes, at both the transcriptional and translational levels. In both human astrocyte precursors and rat glial cells, the levels of expression of glutamine synthetase (GS) and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) were increased and decreased, respectively, after coculture with HTLV-1 T cells. The enhancement of GS expression may result from the action of the protein Tax, which is demonstrated to transactivate the GS gene promoter, while the decreased expression of GDH seems to reflect some compensatory mechanism in response to GS induction. GS and GDH are involved in the conversion of glutamate into glutamine or alpha-ketoglutarate, which then acts as a precursor for glutamatergic and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic neurons. Metabolism in astrocytes altered by Tax protein may lead to deleterious effects if it modifies the extracellular levels of glutamine, glutamate, and GABA and thus modulates neuronal excitability and osmotic equilibrium in the central nervous system of HTLV-1-infected patients.
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PMID:Imbalanced expression of glutamate-glutamine cycle enzymes induced by human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 Tax protein in cultivated astrocytes. 897 Oct

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is the causative agent of a chronic progressive myelopathy called tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-1-associated myelopathy (TSP/HAM). In this disease, lesions of the central nervous system (CNS) are associated with perivascular infiltration by lymphocytes. We and others have hypothesized that these T lymphocytes infiltrating the CNS may play a prominent role in TSP/HAM. Here, we show that transient contact of human or rat astrocytes with T lymphocytes chronically infected by HTLV-1 impairs some of the major functions of brain astrocytes. Uptake of extracellular glutamate by astrocytes was significantly decreased after transient contact with infected T cells, while the expression of the glial transporters GLAST and GLT-1 was decreased. In two-compartment cultures avoiding direct cell-to-cell contact, similar results were obtained, suggesting possible involvement of soluble factors, such as cytokines and the viral protein Tax-1. Recombinant Tax-1 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) decreased glutamate uptake by astrocytes. Tax-1 probably acts by inducing TNF-alpha, as the effect of Tax-1 was abolished by anti-TNF-alpha antibody. The expression of glutamate-catabolizing enzymes in astrocytes was increased for glutamine synthetase and decreased for glutamate dehydrogenase, the magnitudes of these effects being correlated with the level of Tax-1 transcripts. In conclusion, Tax-1 and cytokines produced by HTLV-1-infected T cells impair the ability of astrocytes to manage the steady-state level of glutamate, which in turn may affect neuronal and oligodendrocytic functions and survival.
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PMID:Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1-infected T lymphocytes impair catabolism and uptake of glutamate by astrocytes via Tax-1 and tumor necrosis factor alpha. 1086 55