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)

The present investigation has applied quantitative autoradiography and histochemistry to study the regional distribution of MAO-B and its relation to the number of cells in respective regions. L-deprenyl binds irreversibly and quantitatively to the B-form of monoamine oxidase, MAO, and is an ideal 3H-ligand to measure the MAO-B enzyme protein in tissues by means of in vitro autoradiography. The investigation is performed on spinal sections from five controls and five cases with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) on cervical, thoracic and lumbar level. The highest density of 3H-L-deprenyl binding was found around the central canal (lamina X). MAO-B was markedly increased (up to 2.5 times of values in controls) specifically in regions of neurodegeneration e.g. motor neuron laminae and corticospinal tracts. There was a high correlation between glial cell count and 3H-L-deprenyl binding with a relation indicating enhanced MAO-B protein in glial cells within areas of neurodegeneration. In contrast the increased microglial cell number in ALS did not show any correlation with 3H-L-deprenyl binding.
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PMID:Increased binding of 3H-L-deprenyl in spinal cords from patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis as demonstrated by autoradiography. 141 62

The distribution of MAO-B was studied by using an in vitro quantitative autoradiographical method in the post-mortem spinal cord and motor cortex from control and ALS cases. 3H-L-deprenyl was used as a radiotracer. Sections stained with thionine were used to count glial cells. In both control and ALS spinal cords, high density of 3H-L deprenyl binding was observed around the central canal, in the substantia gelatinosa and other grey matter regions. In the ALS cases a pronounced and statistically significant increase of MAO-B was observed in the corticospinal tract, the motor neuron areas and in the ventral white matter. An increase in the number of glial cells in spinal cords from ALS cases was also evident. Moreover, the concentration of MAO-B was highly correlated with glial cell counts in thionine stained sections in various regions of the spinal cord, both in controls and ALS cases. An elevated level of 3H-L-deprenyl binding, in ALS cases, was observed in all the individual laminae of the pre- and post-central gyri of the cerebral cortex. There was no difference in MAO-B concentration between the two groups in the occipital cortex. A substantial increase in the concentration of MAO-B was observed in the white matter of ALS cases. Reactive gliosis has been shown to be associated with neurodegenerative disorders and experimental lesions in animals. The most likely explanation for the increase of MAO-B in ALS and in other neurodegenerative disorders seems to be that the increase is a consequence of the reactive gliosis associated with these disorders.
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PMID:Monoamine oxidase-B in motor cortex and spinal cord in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis studied by quantitative autoradiography. 793 Dec 32

A double-staining method was applied to cryosections of human spinal cord from patients who died with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and corresponding controls in order to investigate cellular content of monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B). 3H-L-Deprenyl emulsion autoradiography was used in combination with histochemical methods for the detection of astrocytes and monocytes/microglia. In the ALS spinal cords an increased number of astrocytes as well as an increased content of MAO-B in reactive species of astrocytes was demonstrated. No significant 3H-L-deprenyl binding was observed in cells derived from the mesoderm, e.g. monocytes or microglia. Furthermore, a sub-population of reactive astrocytes that contained low levels of MAO-B was observed in spinal sections. These findings were further substantiated by studies performed on primary astrocyte cultures.
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PMID:Reactive gliosis and monoamine oxidase B. 793 Dec 34

Deprenyl, a selective monoamine oxidase B inhibitor, is effective in Parkinson's disease, and can slow the cognitive deterioration in Alzheimer's disease. However, it is not known whether this agent has a trophic effect on spinal motor neurons. We have studied neurotrophic effects of deprenyl on spinal motor neurons, using explanted ventral spinal cord culture from 13-day-old rat embryos. Deprenyl-treated cultures significantly enhanced neurite outgrowth with cultures of ventral spinal cord. Our data suggest that deprenyl is one of the candidate for neurotrophic factors on spinal motor neurons in vitro. A possible role for deprenyl in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis remains to be defined.
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PMID:Deprenyl enhances neurite outgrowth in cultured rat spinal ventral horn neurons. 796 80

The activity of three catecholamine-metabolizing enzymes, monoamine oxidase type A and type B (MAO-A and MAO-B) as well as catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), were estimated in homogenates of human spinal cord using radiometric assays. The enzyme activities were determined in postmortem spinal cord tissue from controls and cases with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The activity of MAO-A was below the limit of detectability in both controls and ALS cases. The activities of MAO-B and COMT were evenly distributed at the various spinal levels. The MAO-B activity was substantially elevated in ALS spinal homogenates, whereas only a slight, but not statistically significant, increase in COMT activity was observed. A significant correlation between COMT and MAO-B activities was observed for controls. However, this covariation was not apparent for the ALS cases. These results suggest that the two enzyme proteins are regulated by more complex mechanisms in the spinal cord in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis than simple general increases caused by elevated astroglial cell numbers. In addition, the MAO-A, MAO-B, and COMT activities were estimated in spinal cords from rats treated with the selective MAO-B inhibitor L-deprenyl, a drug with putative neuroprotective effects in neurodegenerative disorders. After 3 weeks of L-deprenyl treatment (0.25 mg/kg/day, sc), the spinal MAO-A and MAO-B activities were decreased by 50 and 80%, respectively. In contrast, the COMT activity was not altered by L-deprenyl administration.
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PMID:Differential increases in catecholamine metabolizing enzymes in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. 840 91

Apoptotic, rather than necrotic, nerve cell death now appears as likely to underlie a number of common neurological conditions including stroke, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, hereditary retinal dystrophies and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Apoptotic neuronal death is a delayed, multistep process and therefore offers a therapeutic opportunity if one or more of these steps can be interrupted or reversed. Research is beginning to show how specific macromolecules play a role in determining the apoptotic death process. We are particularly interested in the critical nature of gradual mitochondrial failure in the apoptotic process and propose that a maintenance of mitochondrial function through the pharmacological modulation of gene expression offers an opportunity for the effective treatment of some types of neurological dysfunction. Our research into the development of small diffusible molecules that reduce apoptosis has grown from studies of the irreversible MAO-B inhibitor (-)-deprenyl. (-)-Deprenyl can reduce neuronal death independently of MAO-B inhibition even after neurons have sustained seemingly lethal damage. (-)-Deprenyl can also influence the process outgrowth of some glial and neuronal populations and can reduce the concentrations of oxidative radicals in damaged cells at concentrations too small to inhibit MAO. In accord with earlier work of others, we showed that (-)-deprenyl alters the expression of a number of mRNAs or of proteins in nerve and glial cells and that the alterations in gene expression/protein synthesis are the result of a selective action on transcription. The alterations in gene expression/protein synthesis are accompanied by a decrease in DNA fragmentation characteristic of apoptosis and the death of responsive cells. The onco-proteins Bcl-2 and Bax and the scavenger proteins Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) and Mn superoxide dismutase (SOD-2) are among the 40-50 proteins whose synthesis is altered by (-)-deprenyl. Since mitochondrial membrane potential correlates with mitochondrial ATP production, we have used confocal laser imaging techniques in living cells to show that the transcriptional changes induced by (-)-deprenyl result in a maintenance of mitochondrial membrane potential, a decrease in intramitochondrial calcium and a decrease in cytoplasmic oxidative radical levels. We therefore propose that (-)-deprenyl acts on gene expression to maintain mitochondrial function and decrease cytoplasmic oxidative radical levels and thereby reduces apoptosis. An understanding of the molecular steps by which (-)-deprenyl selectively alters transcription may lead to the development of new therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.
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PMID:Apoptosis in neurodegenerative disorders: potential for therapy by modifying gene transcription. 926 33

An active role of monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease has been proposed as the enzyme is known to be a generator of free radicals which seem to be responsible for neuron oxidative damage. We evaluated the influence of MAO-B in the pathogenesis of the sporadic forms of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by studying the MAO-B allele distribution in 51 patients and 71 healthy controls. MAO-B did not directly result in a risk factor for ALS but seemed to strongly influence age at onset. The mean ALS onset age was significantly higher in individuals carrying allele 5 compared to individuals without this allele (60.4 +/- 8.1 vs. 52.1 +/- 10.3 years; P = 0.004). These results, in agreement with findings in the literature, suggest an increased MAO-B expression in ALS and support the hypothesis that neuronal cell death in neurodegenerative diseases is triggered by astroglial reaction.
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PMID:Association of monoamine oxidase B alleles with age at onset in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. 1061 18

(-)-Deprenyl, used for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, was reported to possess neurorescuing/antiapoptotic effects independent of its MAO-B inhibiting properties. It is metabolized to (-)-desmethyldeprenyl, which seems to be the active principle, and further to (-)-amphetamine and (-)-methamphetamine, which antagonize its rescuing effects. These complications may explain the limited neurorescuing potential of (-)-deprenyl observed clinically. CGP 3466 (dibenzo[b,f]oxepin-10-ylmethyl-methyl-prop-2-ynyl-amine), structurally related to (-)-deprenyl, exhibits virtually no MAO-B nor MAO-A inhibiting properties and is not metabolized to amphetamines. It was shown to bind to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, a glycolytic enzyme with multiple other functions including an involvement in apoptosis, and shows neurorescuing properties qualitatively similar to, but about 100-fold more potent than those of (-)-deprenyl in several in vitro and in vivo paradigms. In concentrations ranging from 10(-13)-10(-5) M, it rescues partially differentiated PC12 cells from apoptosis induced by trophic withdrawal, cerebellar granule cells from apoptosis induced by cytosine arabinoside, rat embryonic mesencephalic dopaminergic cells from death caused by MPP+, and PAJU human neuroblastoma cells from death caused by rotenone. However, it did not affect apoptosis elicited by a variety of agents in rapidly proliferating cells from thymus or skin or in liver or kidney cells. In vivo, it rescued facial motor neuron cell bodies in rat pups after axotomy, rat hippocampal CA1 neurons after transient ischemia/hypoxia, and mouse nigral dopaminergic cell bodies from death induced by MPTP, in doses ranging between 0.0003 and 0.1 mg/kg p.o. or s.c., depending on the model. It also partially prevented the loss of tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the substantia nigra of 6-OHDA-lesioned rats and improved motor function in these animals. Moreover, it prolonged the life-span of progressive motor neuronopathy (pmn) mice (a model for ALS), preserved their body weight and improved their motor performance. This was accompanied by a decreased loss of motor neurons and motor neuron fibers, and protection of mitochondria. The active concentration- or dose-ranges in the different in vitro and in vivo paradigms were remarkably similar. In several paradigms, bell-shaped dose-response curves were observed, the rescuing effect being lost above about 1 mg/kg, a fact that must be considered in clinical investigations.
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PMID:Neurorescuing effects of the GAPDH ligand CGP 3466B. 1120 40

Iron has been shown to accumulates at site where neurons degenerate in neurodegenerative diseases of Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Friedreich ataxia. Iron is thought to participate or initiate oxidative stress via generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as hydroxyl radical. Iron chelators are neuroprotective and prevent 6-hydroxydoapmine and MPTP dopaminergic neurotoxicity in rats and mice. However, their action on monoamine oxidase (MAO) A and B have not been determined previously since MAO-B inhibitors have been shown to be neuroprotective in cellular and animal models of Parkinson's disease. The chelators 8-hydroxyquinoline, O-phenanthroline, 2,2'-dipyridyl, U74500A and U74600F showed a preference for inhibition of rat brain mitochondrial MAO-A over MAO-B. Their IC(50) ranged from 10(-3) M to 10(-6) M, with 21-amino steroids (U74500A and U74006F) showing a greater selectivity and potency for MAO-A. Desferrioxamine (desferal), a prototype potent iron chelator, exhibited relatively poor MAO inhibitory. The inhibitions of MAO-A and B by 21-amino steroids (Lazaroids) were time dependent and irreversible. Those initiated by 8-hydroxyquinoline, 2,2'-dipyridyl and O-phenanthroline were fully reversible by enzyme dilution experiments. Both Fe(2+) and Fe(3+) reverse the MAO-A and B inhibition induced by the latter chelators, but not those initiated by 21-amino steroids. The data infer that either the inhibition of MAO by 21-amino steroids is either the resultant of their conversion to an irreversible covalently bound ligand or that the iron chelation moiety and MAO inhibitory activity in these compounds are not mutually shared. The results suggest that bifunctional brain penetrable drugs with iron chelating property and MAO inhibitory activity in could be the most feasible approach for neuroprotection in neurodegenerative diseases. Such drug would prevent participation of elevated iron in oxidative stress and formation of reactive hydroxyl radical, via its interaction with H(2)O2 (Fenton chemistry), generated as a consequence MAO and other oxidative enzyme reactions to generative cytotoxic reactive hydroxyl radical. We have now developed several of these compounds with neuroprotective, MAO inhibitory and iron chelating properties from our prototype iron chelators, VK-28 possessing propargylamine moiety of our anti-parkinson drug, rasagiline.
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PMID:Novel bifunctional drugs targeting monoamine oxidase inhibition and iron chelation as an approach to neuroprotection in Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. 1548 Aug 46

Degeneration of nigrostriatal dopamine neurons and cholinergic cortical neurones are the main pathological features of Parkinson's disease (PD) and for the cognitive deficit in dementia of the Alzheimer' type (AD) and in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), respectively. Many PD and DLB subjects have dementia and depression resulting from possible degeneration of cholinergic and noradrenergic and serotonergic neurons. On the other hand, AD patients may also develop extrapyramidal features as well as depression. In both PD and AD there is, respectively, accumulation of iron within the melanin containing dopamine neurons of pars compacta and with in the plaques and tangle. It has been suggested that iron accumulation may contribute to the oxidative stress induced apoptosis reported in both diseases. This may result from increased glia hydrogen peroxide producing monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity that can generate of reactive hydroxyl radical formed from interaction of iron and hydrogen peroxide. We have therefore prepared a series of novel bifunctional drugs from the neuroprotective-antiapoptotic antiparkinson monoamine oxidase B inhibitor, rasagiline, by introducing a carbamate cholinesterase (ChE) inhibitory moiety into it. Ladostigil (TV-3326, N-propargyl-3R-aminoindan-5yl)-ethyl methylcarbamate), has both ChE and MAO-AB inhibitory activity, as potential treatment of AD and DLB or PD subjects with dementia Being a brain selective MAO-AB inhibitor it has limited potentiation of the pressor response to oral tyramine and exhibits antidepressant activity similar to classical non-selective MAO inhibitor antidepressants by increasing brain serotonin and noradrenaline. Ladostigil inhibits brain acetyl and butyrylcholinesterase in rats and antagonizes scopolamine-induced inhibition of spatial learning. Ladostigil like MAO-B inhibitor it prevents MPTP Parkinsonism in mice model and retains the in vitro and in vivo neuroprotective activity of rasagiline. Ladostigil, rasagiline and other propargylamines have been demonstrated to have neuroprotective activity in several in vitro and in vivo models, which have been shown be associated with propargylamines moiety, since propargylamines itself possess these properties. The mechanism of neuroprotective activity has been attributed to the ability of propargylamines-inducing the antiapoptotic family proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl, while decreasing Bad and Bax and preventing opening of mitochondrial permeability transition pore. Iron accumulates in brain regions associated with neurodegenerative diseases of PD, AD, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Huntington disease. It is thought to be involved in Fenton chemistry oxidative stress observed in these diseases. The neuroprotective activity of propargylamines led us to develop several novel bifunctional iron chelator from our prototype brain permeable iron chelators, VK-28, possessing propargylamine moiety (HLA-20, M30 and M30A) to iron out iron from the brain. These compounds have been shown to have iron chelating and monoamine oxidase A and B selective brain inhibitory and neuroprotective-antiapoptotic actions.
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PMID:Bifunctional drug derivatives of MAO-B inhibitor rasagiline and iron chelator VK-28 as a more effective approach to treatment of brain ageing and ageing neurodegenerative diseases. 1562 Dec 13


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