Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0002736 (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)
 19,048 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Onset of motoneuron death characterizing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is closely linked to modified astrocytic and glial environments. Here, we show that in the spinal cord from transgenic rat overexpressing mutated human SOD1, aquaporin-4 mRNA and protein are specifically overexpressed in the gray matter at end stage of disease. Immunohistochemistry and double immunofluorescence allowed to detect, in the spinal cord gray matter of the ALS rat, increased aquaporin-4 surrounding both vessel and motoneuron perikarya. The use of pre-embedding immunohistochemistry at electron microscopic level confirmed such localization associated with swollen astrocytic processes surrounding the vessels. The AQP4 immunohistochemical labeling surrounding several motoneuron perikarya was only seen in ALS rats. Identification of this AQP4-positive cellular type remains unclear.
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PMID:Aquaporin-4 overexpression in rat ALS model. 1908 2

Astrocytes are no longer considered subservient to neurons, and are, instead, now understood to play an active role in brain signaling. The intercellular communication of astrocytes with neurons and other non-neuronal cells involves the exchange of molecules by exocytotic and endocytotic processes through the trafficking of intracellular vesicles. Recent studies of single vesicle mobility in astrocytes have prompted new views of how astrocytes contribute to information processing in nervous tissue. Here, we review the trafficking of several types of membrane-bound vesicles that are specifically involved in the processes of (i) intercellular communication by gliotransmitters (glutamate, adenosine 5'-triphosphate, atrial natriuretic peptide), (ii) plasma membrane exchange of transporters and receptors (EAAT2, MHC-II), and (iii) the involvement of vesicle mobility carrying aquaporins (AQP4) in water homeostasis. The properties of vesicle traffic in astrocytes are discussed in respect to networking with neighboring cells in physiologic and pathologic conditions, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, and states in which astrocytes contribute to neuroinflammatory conditions.
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PMID:Astrocytic vesicle mobility in health and disease. 2371 61

Aquaporins (AQPs) are water channel proteins robustly expressed in the central nervous system (CNS). A number of previous studies described the cellular expression sites and investigated their major roles and function in the brain and spinal cord. Among thirteen different mammalian AQPs, AQP1 and AQP4 have been mainly studied in the CNS and evidence has been presented that they play important roles in the pathogenesis of CNS injury, edema and multiple diseases such as multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, glioblastoma multiforme, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. The objective of this review is to highlight the current knowledge about AQPs in the spinal cord and their proposed roles in pathophysiology and pathogenesis related to spinal cord lesions and injury.
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PMID:Aquaporins in the Spinal Cord. 2794 18

We describe a patient, previously known for NMOSD, who presented a rapidly progressive worsening of muscle strength, respiratory, and bulbar functions. ALS associated with cognitive impairment was diagnosed, while genetic analysis revealed a hexanucleotide repeat expansion in the C9orf72 gene. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported C9orf72-ALS patient with concurrent NMOSD. In consideration of the low prevalence of these two diseases, a by-chance co-occurrence is unlikely. Although the discovery of a disease-specific serum AQP4-IgG antibody has led to a broadening of the NMOSD, a progressive neurological deterioration, as shown by our patient, should be considered as a "red flag", leading to alternative diagnostic hypotheses. Our report supports the hypothesis that in C9orf72-ALS neuroinflammation may contribute to disease penetrance or to determine an aggressive clinical phenotype. Further investigations are needed in order to establish possible shared neuroinflammatory patterns between ALS, NMOSD, and other neuroinflammatory disorders.
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PMID:Concurrence of NMOSD and ALS in a patient with hexanucleotide repeat expansions of C9orf72. 3100 77