Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.4.24.64 (MPP)
 1,876 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

To further characterize MPP(+)-induced cell death and to explore the role of Bcl-2-related proteins in this death paradigm, we utilized a mesencephalon-derived dopaminergic neuronal cell line (MN9D) stably transfected with human bcl-2 (MN9D/Bcl-2), its C-terminal deletion mutant (MN9D/Bcl-2Delta22), murine bax (MN9D/Bax), or a control vector (MN9D/Neo). As determined by electron microscopy and TUNEL assay, MN9D/Neo cells exposed to MPP(+) underwent a cell death that was characterized by mitochondrial swelling and irregularly scattered heterochromatin without accompanying DNA fragmentation. However, cell swelling typically seen in necrosis did not appear. To examine the biochemical events associated with MPP(+)-induced cell death, various analyses were conducted. Addition of a broad-spectrum caspase inhibitor, N-benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethylketone (50-400 microM) or Boc-aspartyl(OMe)-fluoromethylketone (50-200 microM) did not attenuate MPP(+)-induced cell death while the same treatment protected MN9D/Neo cells against staurosporine-induced apoptotic cell death. Concurrent treatment with an inhibitor of macromolecule synthesis such as cycloheximide, emetine, or actinomycin D blocked MPP(+)-induced cell death, suggesting that new protein synthesis is required as demonstrated in many apoptotic cell death. The level of cytosolic calcium in MN9D/Neo cells was unchanged over 24 h following MPP(+) treatment, as monitored by means of the fluorescent probe Fura-2. Western blot analysis indicated that expression level of proapoptotic protein, Bax was not significantly altered after MPP(+) treatment. In this death paradigm, overexpression of Bcl-2 but not its C-terminal deletion mutant attenuated MPP(+)-induced cell death whereas overexpression of Bax had no effect. Taken together, these data indicate that (i) MPP(+) induces a distinct form of cell death which resembles both apoptosis and necrosis; and (ii) full-length Bcl-2 counters MPP(+)-induced morphological changes and cell death via a mechanism that is dependent on de novo protein synthesis but independent of cytosolic calcium changes, Bax expression, and/or activation of caspase(s) in MN9D cells.
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PMID:Characterization of MPP(+)-induced cell death in a dopaminergic neuronal cell line: role of macromolecule synthesis, cytosolic calcium, caspase, and Bcl-2-related proteins. 1048 96

The impact of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in the pathology of Parkinson's disease (PD) and in MPTP neurotoxicity remains unclear. Here, male TNF-alpha (-/-) deficient mice and C57bL/6 mice were treated with MPTP (4 x 15 mg/kg, 24 h intervals) and in one series, thalidomide was administered to inhibit TNF-alpha synthesis. Real-time RT-PCR revealed that the striatal mRNA levels of TNF-alpha, of the astrocytic marker glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and of the marker for activated microglia, macrophage antigen complex-1 (MAC-1), were significantly enhanced after MPTP administration. Thalidomide (50 mg/kg, p.o.) partly protected against the MPTP-induced dopamine (DA) depletion, and TNF-alpha (-/-) mice showed a significant attenuation of striatal DA and DA metabolite loss as well as striatal tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) fiber density, but no difference in nigral TH and DA transporter immunoreactivity. TNF-alpha deficient mice suffered a lower mortality (10%) compared to the high mortality (75%) seen in wild-type mice after acute MPTP treatment (4 x 20 mg/kg, 2 h interval). HPLC measurement of MPP(+) levels revealed no differences in TNF-alpha (-/-), wild-type and thalidomide treated mice. This study demonstrates that TNF-alpha is involved in MPTP toxicity and that inhibition of TNF-alpha response may be a promising target for extending beyond symptomatic treatment and developing anti-parkinsonian drugs for the treatment of the inflammatory processes in PD.
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PMID:Genetic ablation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and pharmacological inhibition of TNF-synthesis attenuates MPTP toxicity in mouse striatum. 1514 Jan 82