Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.1.1.7 (acetylcholinesterase)
28,390 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Patients with reactive systemic amyloidosis have a reduced ability to degrade amyloid A protein fibrils in vitro. The amyloid A degrading activity in serum has been attributed to a neutral serine protease or proteases. Our results show that patients with reactive systemic (amyloid A) amyloidosis have low activities of two serum esterases, namely, arylesterase and paraoxonase, whereas the activity of a third esterase, cholinesterase, is normal. The combination of reduced arylesterase (less than 55 kU/L) plus reduced paraoxonase activity (less than 35 U/L) was found in 32% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis complicated by amyloidosis, but in only 5% of a control nonamyloid patient group, including patients with rheumatoid arthritis, liver disease, and hypoalbuminemia (p less than 0.001). A significant correlation between serum arylesterase and amyloid A degrading activity was found (patients with rheumatoid arthritis plus amyloidosis, n = 31, r = 0.51, p less than 0.01; all patients, n = 95, r = 0.34, p less than 0.001). Our results suggest that the amyloid A degrading activity may be closely related to the esterase activity in serum.
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PMID:Serum esterase activity in reactive systemic amyloidosis and its relation to amyloid A degrading activity. 609 1

Amyloid fibril formation is believed to be a nucleation-dependent polymerization process which may be influenced by various other factors with important consequences for the development, prevention or treatment of amyloidosis. We have previously shown that laminin inhibits A beta peptide fibril formation in vitro. Here we present a kinetic study that indicates laminin to be a potent anti-amyloidosis factor, as it not only inhibited A beta 1-40 fibril aggregation, but also inhibited the aggregation of the Dutch A beta 1-40 variant, a peptide with a higher capacity to aggregate than the wild-type A beta 1-40. The inhibitory effect of laminin on amyloid fibril formation was not overcome by the addition of pre-formed A beta fibrils, suggesting that laminin inhibits the fibril elongation process. At the present time, however, we cannot rule out the possibility that laminin also affects the initial nucleation process of A beta fibril formation. On other hand, laminin was not able to counteract the amyloid fibril formation promoted by acetylcholinesterase (AChE), another component of the amyloid deposits found in AD brains. The effect of laminin may be important as an inhibitor of A beta amyloidogenesis in vivo, specifically at the level of cerebral blood vessels.
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PMID:Laminin blocks the assembly of wild-type A beta and the Dutch variant peptide into Alzheimer's fibrils. 954 1

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder primarily manifesting as a loss of memory. Senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles are the major histopathological alteration in the brain of Alzheimer's disease patients. A considerable deficiency of cholinergic neurons is a consistent finding in Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, many therapeutic strategies to augment cerebral concentration of acetylcholine such as cholinergic precursors, cholinergic receptor agonists, cholinesterase inhibitors and acetylcholine release modulators have been evaluated in Alzheimer's disease. Although cholinesterase inhibitors such as tacrine and galanthamine offer modest clinical benefits, other cholinergic agents have proved to be of limited therapeutic value. Efforts to enhance monoaminergic neurotransmission have also been largely disappointing. Therefore, emphasis is not being put on the use of combination of two class of drugs. Moreover, use of therapeutic agents based on the putative pathogenic etiology of the disease such as excitotoxicity, amyloidosis, aluminium accumulation, inflammatory mechanisms and free radical production is being evaluated. Desferrioxamine, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, prednisone, dapsone, vitamin E and idebenone are some such agents that are currently under investigation for the preventive or palliative effect in Alzheimer's disease. Neurotrophic factors such as nerve growth factor, brain derived neurotrophic factor and epidermal growth factor have shown promising results in animal studies. However, novel methods for delivering these molecules into the brain required to be developed before launching their clinical trials in man.
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PMID:Pharmacological basis of drug therapy of Alzheimer's disease. 956 41

Human brain ageing is associated with reductions in a variety of nicotinic receptors subtypes, whereas changes in age-related disorders including Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease are more selective. In Alzheimer's disease, in the cortex there is a selective loss of the alpha4 (but not alpha3 or 7) subunit immunoreactivity and of nicotine or epibatidine binding but not alpha-bungarotoxin binding. Epibatidine binding is inversely correlated with clinical dementia ratings and with the level of Abeta1-42, but not related to plaque or tangle densities. In contrast, alpha-bungarotoxin binding is positively correlated with plaque densities in the entorhinal cortex. In human temporal cortex loss of acetylcholinesterase catalytic activity is positively correlated with decreased epibatidine binding and in a transgenic mouse model over expressing acetylcholinesterase, epibatidine binding is elevated. In Parkinson's disease, loss of striatal nicotine binding appears to occur early but is not associated with a loss of alpha4 subunit immunoreactivity. Tobacco use in normal elderly individuals is associated with increased alpha4 immunoreactivity in the cortex and lower densities of amyloid-beta plaques, and with greater numbers of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. These findings indicate an early involvement of the alpha4 subunit in beta-amyloidosis but not in nigro-striatal dopaminergic degeneration.
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PMID:Nicotinic receptor subtypes in human brain ageing, Alzheimer and Lewy body diseases. 1077 Oct 16

Amyloid beta-peptide (Abeta) fibril deposition on cerebral vessels produces cerebral amyloid angiopathy that appears in the majority of Alzheimer's disease patients. An early onset of a cerebral amyloid angiopathy variant called hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis of the Dutch type is caused by a point mutation in Abeta yielding Abeta(Glu22-->Gln). The present study addresses the effect of amyloid fibrils from both wild-type and mutated Abeta on vascular cells, as well as the putative protective role of antioxidants on amyloid angiopathy. For this purpose, we studied the cytotoxicity induced by Abeta(1-40 Glu22-->Gln) and Abeta(1-40 wild-type) fibrils on human venule endothelial cells and rat aorta smooth muscle cells. We observed that Abeta(Glu22-->Gln) fibrils are more toxic for vascular cells than the wild-type fibrils. We also evaluated the cytotoxicity of Abeta fibrils bound with acetylcholinesterase (AChE), a common component of amyloid deposits. Abeta(1-40 wild-type)-AChE fibrillar complexes, similar to neuronal cells, resulted in an increased toxicity on vascular cells. Previous reports showing that antioxidants are able to reduce the toxicity of Abeta fibrils on neuronal cells prompted us to test the effect of vitamin E, vitamin C, and 17beta-estradiol on vascular damage induced by Abeta(wild-type) and Abeta(Glu22-->Gln). Our data indicate that vitamin E attenuated significantly the Abeta-mediated cytotoxicity on vascular cells, although 17beta-estradiol and vitamin C failed to inhibit the cytotoxicity induced by Abeta fibrils.
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PMID:Vitamin E but not 17beta-estradiol protects against vascular toxicity induced by beta-amyloid wild type and the Dutch amyloid variant. 1194 11

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by extracellular deposits of amyloid-beta peptide (Abeta) and a severe depletion of the cholinergic system, although the relationship between these two events is poorly understood. In the neocortex, there is a loss of cholinergic fibers and receptors and a decrease of both choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and acetylcholinesterase enzyme activities. The nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM), which provides the major cholinergic input to the neocortex, undergoes profound neuron loss in AD. In the present study, we have examined the cholinergic alterations in amyloid precursor protein transgenic mice (APP23), a mouse model of cerebral beta-amyloidosis. In aged APP23 mice, our results reveal modest decreases in cortical cholinergic enzyme activity compared with age-matched wild-type mice. Total cholinergic fiber length was more severely affected, with 29 and 35% decreases in the neocortex of aged APP23 mice compared with age-matched wild-type mice and young transgenic mice, respectively. However, there was no loss of cholinergic basal forebrain neurons in these aged APP23 mice, suggesting that the cortical cholinergic deficit in APP23 mice is locally induced by the deposition of amyloid and is not caused by a loss of cholinergic basal forebrain neurons. To study the impact of cholinergic basal forebrain degeneration on cortical amyloid deposition, we performed unilateral NBM lesions in adult APP23 mice. Three to 8 months after lesioning, a 38% reduction in ChAT activity and significant cholinergic fiber loss were observed in the ipsilateral frontal cortex. There was a 19% decrease in Abeta levels of the ipsilateral compared with contralateral frontal cortex with no change in the ratio of Abeta40 to Abeta42. We conclude that the severe cholinergic deficit in AD is caused by both the loss of cholinergic basal forebrain neurons and locally by cerebral amyloidosis in the neocortex. Moreover, our results suggest that disruption of the basal cholinergic forebrain system does not promote cerebral amyloidosis in APP23 transgenic mice.
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PMID:Cholinergic changes in the APP23 transgenic mouse model of cerebral amyloidosis. 1194 24

The role of neuropeptides and the significance of peptidergic mechanisms in neurodegenerative diseases are still unclear. In the periphery, nerve injury results in dramatic changes in the expression of neuropeptides. An important question regards to what extent similar changes occur, and similar mechanisms operate, after lesions and/or degeneration in the brain. The purpose of this work is, therefore, to study neuropeptides with regard to their presence and distribution in the APP23 mouse (HuAPP(751) K670M/N671L under the murine Thy-1 promoter), a model for Alzheimer's disease, or cerebral amyloidosis, using the immunohistochemical technique. In addition, tyrosine hydroxylase and acetylcholinesterase were analyzed. This study shows marked neuropeptide changes in the hippocampal formation and the ventral cortex, whereas the dorsolateral neocortex was less affected. There was a considerable variation with regard to peptide expression among animals of the same age which was related to the variation in Abeta deposition. Dystrophic and varicose fibers containing galanin, neuropeptide Y, enkephalin, and especially cholecystokinin were commonly seen in close proximity to amyloid plaques. In addition, generalized changes were observed, such as increases of enkephalin and neuropeptide Y in stratum lacunosum moleculare and of neuropeptide Y, enkephalin, and dynorphin in mossy fibers. In contrast, cholecystokinin was decreased in mossy fibers. Comparatively small differences were observed between wild-type and transgenic mice with regard to tyrosine hydroxylase (noradrenergic but also dopaminergic fibers) and acetylcholine esterase (mainly cholinergic fibers). The increase of neuropeptides in dystrophic fibers in this model may represent a response to nerve injury caused by the amyloid accumulation and may reflect attempts to counteract degeneration by initiating protective and/or regenerative processes.
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PMID:Neuropeptide alterations in the hippocampal formation and cortex of transgenic mice overexpressing beta-amyloid precursor protein (APP) with the Swedish double mutation (APP23). 1467 73

The primary target of licensed drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease is the inhibition of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, although preventing beta-amyloidosis is a prime target for drugs in development. The in vitro dual anti-cholinesterase and beta-secretase activities of Camellia sinensis L. extract (tea) is reported. Green and black tea inhibited human acetylcholinesterase (AChE) with IC(50) values of 0.03 mg/mL and 0.06 mg/mL respectively, and human butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) with IC(50) values 0.05 mg/mL. Green tea at a final assay concentration of 0.03 mg/mL inhibited beta-secretase by 38%. These novel findings suggest that tea infusions contain biologically active principles, perhaps acting synergistically, that may be used to retard the progression of the disease assuming that these principles, yet to be identified, reach the brain.
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PMID:In vitro anti-beta-secretase and dual anti-cholinesterase activities of Camellia sinensis L. (tea) relevant to treatment of dementia. 1547 6

Uro-neurological assessment was performed in four patients with small-fiber neuropathy due to amyloidosis (2 transthyretin-type/2 immunoglobulin light-chain-type). Voiding difficulties were due to detrusor weakness and impaired bladder sensation. In two patients cholinesterase inhibition treatment caused urge incontinence, indicating detrusor denervation supersensitivity. The underlying mechanisms of urinary dysfunction seem to involve postganglionic cholinergic and afferent somatic nerves.
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PMID:Urinary dysfunction and autonomic control in amyloid neuropathy. 1647 99

Although the primary function of AChE (acetylcholinesterase) is the synaptic hydrolysis of acetylcholine, it appears that the protein is also able to promote various non-cholinergic activities, including cell adhesion, neurite outgrowth and amyloidosis. We have observed previously that AChE is able to bind to mouse laminin-111 in vitro by an electrostatic mechanism. We have also observed that certain mAbs (monoclonal antibodies) recognizing AChE's PAS (peripheral anionic site) inhibit both laminin binding and cell adhesion in neuroblastoma cells. Here, we investigated the interaction sites of the two molecules, using docking, synthetic peptides, ELISAs and conformational interaction site mapping. Mouse AChE was observed on docking to bind to a discontinuous, largely basic, structure, Val(2718)-Arg-Lys-Arg-Leu(2722), Tyr(2738)-Tyr(2739), Tyr(2789)-Ile-Lys-Arg-Lys(2793) and Val(2817)-Glu-Arg-Lys(2820), on the mouse laminin alpha1 G4 domain. ELISAs using synthetic peptides confirmed the involvement of the AG-73 site (2719-2729). This site overlaps extensively with laminin's heparin-binding site, and AChE was observed to compete with heparan sulfate for laminin binding. Docking showed the major component of the interaction site on AChE to be the acidic sequence Arg(90)-Glu-Leu-Ser-Glu-Asp(95) on the omega loop, and also the involvement of Pro(40)-Pro-Val(42), Arg(46) (linked to Glu(94) by a salt bridge) and the hexapeptide Asp(61)-Ala-Thr-Thr-Phe-Gln(66). Epitope analysis, using CLiPS technology, of seven adhesion-inhibiting mAbs (three anti-human AChE, one anti-Torpedo AChE and three anti-human anti-anti-idiotypic antibodies) showed their major recognition site to be the sequence Pro(40)-Pro-Met-Gly-Pro-Arg-Arg-Phe(48) (AChE human sequence). The antibodies, however, also reacted with the proline-containing sequences Pro(78)-Gly-Phe-Glu-Gly-Thr-Glu(84) and Pro(88)-Asn-Arg-Glu-Leu-Ser-Glu-Asp(95). Antibodies that recognized other features of the PAS area but not the Arg(90)-Gly-Leu-Ser-Glu-Asp(95) motif interfered neither with laminin binding nor with cell adhesion. These results define sites for the interaction of AChE and laminin and suggest that the interaction plays a role in cell adhesion. They also suggest the strong probability of functional redundancy between AChE and other molecules in early development, particularly heparan sulfate proteoglycans, which may explain the survival of the AChE-knockout mouse.
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PMID:Interaction of acetylcholinesterase with the G4 domain of the laminin alpha1-chain. 1821 27


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