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)

Gene expression analysis is a powerful tool that has been used to define the pathological processes underlying many diseases. Several laboratories, including our own, have used this approach to identify molecular abnormalities in the G93A/SOD1 mouse, an animal model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Here, we report the results of analysis of an expanded panel of genes throughout the entire lifetime in the spinal cord of these animals. In addition to upregulation of microglia/neuroinflammatory genes identified previously, we observed upregulation of metallothionein-I and -II (MT-I, MT-II). MT-I and MT-II play an important role in disposition of zinc ion, and other studies have also indicated their levels are altered in development of motor neuron disease in these animals. We also analyzed the effect on these expression profiles of several candidate drugs that have been shown to have neuroprotective effects in vivo or in vitro. That is, we asked whether administration to the G93A/SOD1 mice of any of these drugs could reverse the alterations in gene expression patterns that occur as the animals develop. The mice were given daily doses of these drugs when they were 9-11 weeks old, at a stage early in development of motor neuron disease, continuing for 5 weeks, at which time they were sacrificed. Treatment of the mice with l-carnosine, a dipeptide that scavenges free radicals and chelates zinc, did not affect expression of any of the genes altered in these animals. However, it did upregulate 3 genes unaffected by the presence of the G93A/SOD1 mutation: glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), stroma-derived factor-1 (SDF-1), and excitatory amino acid transporter-2 (EAAT2). In contrast, metallothionein-III (MT-III) was downregulated. Treatment of the animals with baicalein, an herbal extract with anti-inflammatory and numerous other effects, downregulated the microglia markers CD68, CD80, and CD86, all of which were upregulated in untreated mutant animals. Baicalein treatment also downregulated tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFRp55) and upregulated noninducible nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) and glutamine synthase (GS). These 3 genes were unaffected by the presence of the G93A mutation. We discuss the implication of these results for testing the effects of these and other candidate drugs in mutant SOD1 mice.
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PMID:Effect of neuroprotective drugs on gene expression in G93A/SOD1 mice. 1617 15

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a fatal neurodegenerative disease and glutamate excitotoxicity has been implicated in its pathogenesis. Platelets contain a glutamate uptake system and express components of the glutamate-glutamine cycle, such as the predominant glial excitatory amino acid transporter 2 (EAAT2). In several neurological diseases platelets have proven to be systemic markers for the disease. We compared properties of key components of the glutamate-glutamine cycle in blood platelets of ALS patients and healthy controls. Platelets were analyzed for (3)H-glutamate uptake in the presence or absence of thrombin and for EAAT2 and glutamine synthetase protein expression by Western blotting. Platelets of ALS patients showed a 37% increase in expression of glutamine synthetase, but normal expression of glutamate transporter EAAT2. Glutamate uptake in resting or thrombin-stimulated platelets did not differ significantly between platelets from ALS patients and controls. Thrombin-stimulation resulted in about a seven-fold increase in glutamate uptake. Our data suggest that glutamine synthetase may be a peripheral marker of ALS and encourage further investigation into the role of this enzyme in ALS.
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PMID:Increased glutamine synthetase but normal EAAT2 expression in platelets of ALS patients. 1642 5

AMPA receptor-mediated neuronal death is initiated by exaggerated Ca2+ influx through AMPA receptor channels, and the Ca2+ permeability of the AMPA receptor ion channel depends strongly upon the presence or absence in its composition of an edited GluR2 subunit whose glutamine (Q) residue is substituted by arginine (R) at the Q/R site due to RNA editing. The pivotal role of the RNA editing at the GluR2 Q/R site in neuronal death has been clearly demonstrated in animal experiments and its deficiency is a direct cause of neuronal death. We demonstrated that the editing efficiency at the GluR2 mRNA Q/R site varied greatly, from 0% to 100%, among the single motoneurons of each individual with ALS, whereas it remained 100% among those of normal controls. In addition, the editing efficiency was more than 99% in the cerebellar Purkinje cells of ALS, spinocerebellar degeneration and normal control groups. By contrast, there was no significant difference as to both the amount and the proportion to total GluRs mRNA of GluR2 mRNA between normal and ALS motoneurons. Thus, marked GluR2 underediting in ALS motoneurons occurs in a disease specific and region selective manner, and may be closely relevant to ALS etiology.
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PMID:[Death of motor neurons and molecular change of glutamate receptors in ALS]. 1644 80

Sarcopenia describes the involuntary decline in muscle mass with aging, coupled with fatigue, and loss of force and function. We investigated 113 human muscle biopsy specimens obtained from patients with neuromuscular diseases and controls. We measured 21 amino acids in these muscle biopsies. Age emerged as a significant negative predictor of cytosolic concentration ratio of glutamine to total branched chain amino acids and of glutamine to total aromatic amino acids using stepwise multiple linear regression analysis. This pattern of alteration corresponds well to documented alterations in skeletal muscle of critically ill patients and after immobilization. Additionally, in myositis, citrulline was significantly elevated, while glutamate, lysine and taurine were significantly reduced. Furthermore, in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (sALS) the total aromatic amino acids, arginine, glutamate, threonine, and tyrosine were significantly elevated. This study provides evidence, that alteration of glutamine is correlated to aging and might reflect increased proteolysis in aged and diseased human skeletal muscle.
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PMID:Age related profiles of free amino acids in human skeletal muscle. 1664 14

Unlike traditional, tracer-based methods of molecular imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is based on the behavior of specific nuclei within a magnetic field and the general principle that the resonant frequency depends on the nucleus' immediate chemical environment. Most clinical MRS research has concentrated on the metabolites visible with proton spectroscopy and measured in specified tissue volumes in the brain. This methodology has been applied in various neurodegenerative disorders, most frequently utilizing measures of N-acetylaspartate as a neuronal marker. At short echo times, additional compounds can be quantified, including myo-inositol, a putative marker for neuroglia, the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate and its metabolic counterpart glutamine, and the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid. 31P-MRS can be used to study high-energy phosphate metabolites, providing an in vivo assessment of tissue bioenergetic status. This review discusses the application of these techniques to patients with neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
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PMID:MR spectroscopy in neurodegenerative disease. 1727 31

Biomarkers beyond clinical assessment are needed in patients who suffer from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Here, single-voxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H MRS) of the gray matter of the motor cortex and the white matter including the pyramidal tracts was used to investigate concentrations of N-acetylaspartate (NAA), creatine (Cr), choline (Cho), myoinositol, glutamate, and glutamine in patients with definite ALS in a longitudinal design (three measurements at study inclusion, after 3 and 6 months). A volume-corrected analysis of gray and white matter fractions within the volumes of interest (VOI) was performed for the identification of the absolute metabolite concentrations. The patient group showed a significant decline of the compound NAA over time in the motor cortex areas both of the clinically more and less affected hemisphere between first measurement and month 6 and for the less affected side additionally between first measurement and month 3. For the NAA/(Cr + Cho) ratio, significant decline in the less affected hemisphere was observed from the first measurement to month 3 and to month 6 as well as from month 3 to month 6. In contrast, neither NAA nor the NAA/(Cr + Cho) ratios in the white matter areas showed any significant alterations. All other compounds showed no significant changes over time. In summary, the longitudinal changes of cortical metabolite concentrations in the course of ALS could be assessed by optimized (1)H MRS techniques at group level, so that (1)H MRS parameters, in particular volume-corrected values of NAA in the clinically less affected hemisphere, seem to have the potential to serve as a surrogate marker for monitoring ALS disease progression.
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PMID:Brain metabolites in definite amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. A longitudinal proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study. 1743

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by a progressive loss of motor neurons. Visualizing corresponding metabolic changes in the brain of patients with ALS with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) may provide surrogate markers for an early disease detection, for monitoring the progression and for evaluating a treatment response. The primary objective of our study was to evaluate whether modifications in MR metabolite levels occur before clinical disease onset, and whether these changes are directly linked to a distinct spatial progression pattern in the CNS. Therefore, age-dependent alterations in the cerebral and spinal metabolic profile in the mouse model of ALS overexpressing the mutated human G93A-superoxide dismutase 1 (G93A-SOD1) were determined by high-resolution MRS of tissue extracts at 14.1 Tesla. Both non-transgenic mice (control mice) and transgenic mice overexpressing the non-mutated human SOD1 (tg-SOD1) served as controls. In the spinal cord of G93A-SOD1 mice significantly decreased levels of N-acetyl aspartate were already detected 34 days postpartum, i.e. about 60 days before the average disease onset caused by motor neuron decline. In addition, glutamine and gamma-aminobutyric acid concentrations were significantly diminished at Day 75, which is still in the presymptomatic phase of the disease. These metabolic changes were further progressive in the course of the disease and started to involve the brainstem at Day 75. Overall, high-resolution (1)H-MRS allows a sensitive spatial and temporal metabolite profiling in the presymptomatic phase of ALS even before significant neuronal cell loss occurs.
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PMID:Metabolic progression markers of neurodegeneration in the transgenic G93A-SOD1 mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. 1743 58

Proteolysis plays an essential role in the regulation of divergent cellular activities by catalyzing biological reactions rapidly, in an orderly manner, exhaustively, and uni-directionally. It is now clear that intracellular proteolysis actively controls various biologically important processes, such as cell-cycle control, DNA repair, immune and stress responses, and protein quality-control. Recently, it has been clarified, as a central scenario, that dysfunctioning of proteolysis, which plays a central role in the clearance of impaired proteins by facilitating proteolytic removal of improperly-folded proteins or unfolded proteins to maintain normal cell functions, causes various neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, poly-glutamine diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and prion disease, which are increasing in the aging society of the 21st century. The degradation machinery in eukaryotic cells can be divided into two distinct sub-pathways, i.e. , the ubiquitin(a posttranslational modifier serving as the degradation signal)-proteasome(a eukaryotic ATP-dependent protease)system and the autophagy(Greek for self-eating)-lysosome system. Emerging evidence emphasizes the importance of both proteolytic pathways in various biological and pathological processes, such as cellular remodelling, tumorigenesis and developmental programmes. Proteolysis may contribute to the development of a new bio-science field as well as to that of therapies for the aforementioned intractable diseases.
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PMID:[The protein-destroying machinery]. 1819 22

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) have been investigated in a single neurodegenerative disease manifesting as either amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or frontotemporal dementia (FTD) alone, but have not been examined in combined disorders such as ALS with FTD (ALS-FTD). To our knowledge, this study is the first attempt to demonstrate relationship between MRI abnormalities and MR spectroscopic metabolite changes of the motor cortex, frontal white matter and corticospinal tract in a patient with the diagnosis of ALS with probable upper motor neuron signs (ALS-PUMNS) and FTD. Patient presented underwent MRI of the brain and MRS. The ratio of N-acetylaspartate (NAA) to creatine (Cr), choline to Cr, myo-inositol (ml) to Cr and glutamate-glutamine (Glx) to Cr were derived from peak area measurement. Spectra from the right motor cortex, frontal white matter and corticospinal tract were obtained. MR images were evaluated for sulcus centralis enlargement, corticospinal tract hyperintensity and frontal lobes atrophy. Spectra showed reduced NAA/Cr and Glx/Cr ratio, yet the ratio of Cho/Cr exhibited significant elevation. MR images revealed sulcus centralis enlargement, high signal intensity of corticospinal tract and atrophy of both frontal lobes. Proton spectroscopic metabolic changes in a current patient fully correlate with previously reported MRS metabolic changes in ALS alone. Surprisingly, normal ml (glial marker) values have been found in almost all measured voxels of interest except in the frontal white matter. These findings differ from the previous findings in ALS or FTD alone. In conclusion, these findings support the concept that ALS, FTD and ALS-FTD may represent different manifestations of a single pathological continuum.
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PMID:Magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy in a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. 1840 84

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative motor neuron disorder. Mutations in Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) cause approximately 20% of familial ALS. One of the possible mechanisms whereby they induce disease is mitochondrial dysfunction in motor neurons. Here we describe a patient with ALS and muscle mitochondrial oxidative defect associated with a novel SOD1 mutation. Direct sequencing of SOD1 gene revealed a heterozygous mutation in codon 22 substituting a highly conserved amino acid, from glutamine to arginine (Q22R). Muscle biopsy showed a neurogenic pattern associated with cytochrome c oxidase (COX) deficiency in several muscle fibers. Western blot analysis demonstrated a reduction in SOD1 content in the cytoplasmic and mitochondrial fractions. These results suggest that a minute quantity of mutant SOD1 protein contributes to a mitochondrial toxicity also in muscle tissue.
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PMID:Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis linked to a novel SOD1 mutation with muscle mitochondrial dysfunction. 1900 Jun 26


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