Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:1.9.3.1 (cytochrome oxidase)
 8,822 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The G8363A is a very rare mtDNA tRNA(Lys) gene mutation that has been associated to MERRF-like syndrome, cardiomyopathy or Leigh syndrome. Here, we describe the clinical and molecular features of a new large multigenerational family and we review the literature of cases with this mutation. In our family seven members presented a heterogeneous mitochondrial disease phenotype, from MERRF-like syndrome to isolated psychiatric disorder, associated with the G8363A mutation. The two probands are dizygotic twin sisters affected by mental retardation, neural deafness, myopathy, myoclonic epilepsy and ataxia. Twins' muscle biopsies showed a severe cytochrome c oxidase (COX) deficiency and ragged-red fibers. Their mitochondrial respiratory chain was defective in complexes I and IV in muscle. A severe reduction in complex IV activity was also observed in fibroblasts and myoblasts. Molecular analysis showed a G8363A transition in the mtDNA tRNA(Lys) gene. The mutation was almost homoplasmic (>90%) in muscle and blood of the twins and heteroplasmic (55+/-8%) in blood sample from affected maternal relatives. Based on our family data and the meta-analysis of the literature, we confirm that mutational load directly correlates with severity of the disease (severe vs mild/moderate phenotype; P=0.00168) and with disease onset (P<0.00001). However the presence of several exceptions and overlaps among patients with different clinical severity limits the clinical usefulness of this observation. Although the pathogenicity of the G8363A mutation is well established, counselling is a difficult task for clinicians because of the large phenotypical variability. Our study contributes further data on the clinical spectrum and its relation with the level of G8363A tRNA(Lys) mtDNA mutation.
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PMID:Mitochondrial DNA G8363A mutation in the tRNA Lys gene: clinical, biochemical and pathological study. 1927 89

Cognitive impairments are amongst the most debilitating deficits of schizophrenia and the best predictor of functional outcome. Schizophrenia is hypothesized to have a neurodevelopmental origin, making animal models of neurodevelopmental insult important for testing predictions that early insults will impair cognitive function. Rats exposed to methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) at gestational day 17 display morphological, physiological and behavioral abnormalities relevant to schizophrenia. Here we investigate the cognitive abilities of adult MAM rats. We examined brain activity in MAM rats by histochemically assessing cytochrome oxidase enzyme activity, a metabolic marker of neuronal activity. To assess cognition, we used a hippocampus-dependent two-frame active place avoidance paradigm to examine learning and spatial memory, as well as cognitive control and flexibility using the same environment and evaluating the same set of behaviors. We confirmed that adult MAM rats have altered hippocampal morphology and brain function, and that they are hyperactive in an open field. The latter likely indicates MAM rats have a sensorimotor gating deficit that is common to many animal models used for schizophrenia research. On first inspection, cognitive control seems impaired in MAM rats, indicated by more errors during the two-frame active place avoidance task. Because MAM rats are hyperactive throughout place avoidance training, we considered the possibility that the hyperlocomotion may account for the apparent cognitive deficits. These deficits were reduced on the basis of measures of cognitive performance that account for motor activity differences. However, though other aspects of memory are intact, the ability of MAM rats to express trial-to-trial memory is delayed compared to control rats. These findings suggest that spatial learning and cognitive abilities are largely intact, that the most prominent cognitive deficit is specific to acquiring memory in the MAM neurodevelopmental model, and that hyperactivity can confound assessments of cognition in animal models of mental dysfunction.
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PMID:Memory deficits with intact cognitive control in the methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) exposure model of neurodevelopmental insult. 2748 50