Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0004134 (ataxia)
 15,886 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

CI-943 (8-ethyl-7,8-dihydro-1,3,5-trimethyl-1H-imidazo[1,2-c] pyrazolo[3,4-e]-pyrimidine) is a novel agent that is chemically unrelated to available antipsychotics and is not a dopamine receptor antagonist. Like available antipsychotics, CI-943 reduces spontaneous locomotion in mice and rats and inhibits compulsive cage climbing induced by apomorphine in mice at doses that do not produce ataxia. However, CI-943 enhances rather than inhibits the locomotor stimulant effects of d-amphetamine in mice and rats. Unlike dopamine antagonists, CI-943 does not affect stereotypy caused by apomorphine or amphetamine in rats. CI-943 displays an antipsychotic-like profile in conditioned avoidance tests, inhibiting one-way avoidance in rats at doses that do not impair escape and inhibiting continuous avoidance in rats and squirrel monkeys at doses that do not impair shock termination responding. Although high doses of CI-943 produce dystonic movements in haloperidol-sensitized monkeys, CI-943 differs from dopamine antagonists that produce extrapyramidal dysfunction in humans in that doses of CI-943 that are sufficient to inhibit avoidance responding in monkeys do not produce extrapyramidal dysfunction. Unlike dopamine antagonists that produce tardive dyskinesia, CI-943 administered repeatedly at high doses does not produce behavioral supersensitivity to dopamine agonists in rats. These results demonstrate that CI-943 resembles available antipsychotics in some preclinical behavioral tests commonly used to predict antipsychotic efficacy but differs from dopamine antagonists in tests predictive of dopamine receptor antagonism and antipsychotic-induced neurological dysfunction.
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PMID:CI-943, a potential antipsychotic agent. I. Preclinical behavioral effects. 257 12

It is suggested that mammalian cells have evolved to respond to methionine deficiency since in such circumstances vital methylation reactions are put at risk, due to decreased levels of S-adenosyl-methionine. Enzymatic changes occurring as a result of decreased methionine, S-adenosylmethionine and S-adenosylhomocysteine, optimize the remethylation of homocysteine to methionine by decreasing homocysteine catabolism and channelling cellular folates into 5-methyltetrahydropteroylglutamate (5-CH3-H4 PteGlu). The latter, in addition to optimising the remethylation cycle, directs the folate cofactors away from purine and pyrimidine biosynthesis and decreases the rate of proliferation of rapidly dividing cells thus reducing competition for methionine incorporation into proteins. Decreased cellular homocysteine, as a result of decreased methionine, would also restrict cell division by decreased conversion of plasma 5-CH3-H4PteGlu into intracellular polyglutamates. Cobalamin deficiency, either nutritional or due to exposure to the Co (I) cobalamin inactivating agent nitrous oxide, prevents the demethylation of 5-CH3-H4PteGlu, which even in the presence of adequate amounts of homocysteine and methionine prevents rapidly proliferating cells from converting enough of the plasma 5-CH3-H4 PteGlu into folylpolyglutamate forms to permit normal DNA biosynthesis and cell replication. This, together with the trapping of the cellular folate cofactors in the 5-CH3-H4PteGlu form, results in megaloblastic changes occurring in tissues such as the marrow. The vital role of the methylation reactions was demonstrated by exposing monkeys to nitrous oxide which inactivated their methionine synthetase. The resultant ataxia and severe demyelination was prevented and diminished by methionine supplementation. When methionine synthetase was similarly inactivated in mice it was shown that while 5-CH3-H4PteGlu enters mammalian cells, it is not converted into a polyglutamyl form and subsequently leaves the cell unmetabolised. In similar experiments in rats methionine was found to have only a small effect in restoring folylpolyglutamate biosynthesis, contrary to previous reports using nutritionally cobalamin deficient animals. It was found that a decrease in the deoxythymidine salvage pathway by methionine, under the experimental conditions used, has led others to the mistaken conclusion that methionine has an 'anti-folate' effect in bone marrow, i.e. that it decreases folate availability for thymidylate synthetase.
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PMID:The role of methionine in the intracellular accumulation and function of folates. 661 25

Nova-1, an autoantigen in paraneoplastic opsoclonus myoclonus ataxia (POMA), a disorder associated with breast cancer and motor dysfunction, is a neuron-specific nuclear RNA binding protein. We have identified in vivo Nova-1 RNA ligands by combining affinity-elution-based RNA selection with protein-RNA immunoprecipitation. Starting with a pool of approximately 10(15) random 52-mer RNAs, we identified long stem-loop RNA ligands that bind to Nova-1 with high affinity (Kd of approximately 2 nM). The loop region of these RNAs harbors a approximately 15-bp pyrimidine-rich element [UCAU(N)(0-2)]3 which is essential for Nova-1 binding. Mutagenesis studies defined the third KH domain of Nova-1 and the [UCAU(N)(0-2)]3 element as necessary for in vitro binding. Consensus [UCAU (N)(0-2)], elements were identified in two neuronal pre-mRNAs, one encoding the inhibitory glycine receptor alpha2 (GlyR alpha2) and a second encoding Nova-1 itself. Nova-1 protein binds these RNAs with high affinity and specificity in vitro, and this binding can be blocked by POMA antisera. Moreover, both Nova-1 and GlyR alpha2 pre-mRNAs specifically coimmunoprecipitated with Nova-1 protein from brain extracts. Thus, Nova-1 functions as a sequence-specific nuclear RNA binding protein in vivo; disruption of the specific interaction between Nova-1 and GlyR alpha2 pre-mRNA may underlie the motor dysfunction seen in POMA.
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PMID:The neuronal RNA binding protein Nova-1 recognizes specific RNA targets in vitro and in vivo. 915 18

Four unrelated patients are described with a syndrome that included developmental delay, seizures, ataxia, recurrent infections, severe language deficit, and an unusual behavioral phenotype characterized by hyperactivity, short attention span, and poor social interaction. These manifestations appeared within the first few years of life. Each patient displayed abnormalities on EEG. No unusual metabolites were found in plasma or urine, and metabolic testing was normal except for persistent hypouricosuria. Investigation of purine and pyrimidine metabolism in cultured fibroblasts derived from these patients showed normal incorporation of purine bases into nucleotides but decreased incorporation of uridine. De novo synthesis of purines and cellular phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate content also were moderately decreased. The distribution of incorporated purines and pyrimidines did not reveal a pattern suggestive of a deficient enzyme activity. Assay of individual enzymes in fibroblast lysates showed no deficiencies. However, the activity of cytosolic 5'-nucleotidase was elevated 6- to 10-fold. Based on the possibility that the observed increased catabolic activity and decreased pyrimidine salvage might be causing a deficiency of pyrimidine nucleotides, the patients were treated with oral pyrimidine nucleoside or nucleotide compounds. All patients showed remarkable improvement in speech and behavior as well as decreased seizure activity and frequency of infections. A double-blind placebo trial was undertaken to ascertain the efficacy of this supplementation regimen. Upon replacement of the supplements with placebo, all patients showed rapid regression to their pretreatment states. These observations suggest that increased nucleotide catabolism is related to the symptoms of these patients, and that the effects of this increased catabolism are reversed by administration of uridine.
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PMID:Developmental disorder associated with increased cellular nucleotidase activity. 932 56

DNA repeat expansion is the genetic basis for a growing number of neurological disorders. While the largest subset of these diseases results in an increase in the length of a polyglutamine tract in the protein encoded by the affected gene, the most common form of inherited mental retardation, fragile X syndrome, and the most common inherited ataxia, Friedreich's ataxia, are both caused by expansions that are transcribed but not translated. These expansions both decrease expression of the gene in which the expanded repeat is located, but they do so by quite different mechanisms. In fragile X syndrome, CGG. CCG expansion in the 5' untranslated region of the FMR1 gene leads to hypermethylation of the repeats and the adjacent CpG-rich promoter. Methylation prevents the binding of the transcription factor alpha-Pal/NRF-1, and may indirectly affect the binding of other factors via the formation of transcriptionally silent chromatin. In Friedreich's ataxia, GAA. TTC expansion in an intron of the FRDA gene reduces expression by interfering with transcription elongation. The model that best describes the available data is transcription-driven formation of a transient purine. purine. pyrimidine DNA triplex behind an advancing RNA polymerase. This structure lassoes the RNA polymerase that caused it, trapping the enzyme on the template.
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PMID:Fragile X syndrome and Friedreich's ataxia: two different paradigms for repeat induced transcript insufficiency. 1171 74

Corticotropin-releasing factor(1) (CRF(1)) antagonists may be effective in the treatment of anxiety disorders with fewer side effects compared with classic benzodiazepines. The behavioral effects of DMP904 [4-(3-pentylamino)-2,7-dimethyl-8-(2-methyl-4-methoxyphenyl)-pyrazolo-[1,5-a]-pyrimidine] and its effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis were related to its levels in plasma and estimated occupancy of central CRF(1) receptors. DMP904 (10-30 mg/kg, p.o.) and alprazolam (10 mg/kg, p.o.) increased time spent in open arms of an elevated-plus maze. In addition, acutely or chronically (14 days) administered DMP904 (1.0-30 mg/kg, p.o.) and acute alprazolam (1.0-3.0 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly reduced exit latency in the defensive withdrawal model of anxiety in rats, suggesting that tolerance may not develop to the anxiolytic-like effects of DMP904 in this model of anxiety. Acutely, DMP904 reversed the stress-induced increase in plasma corticosterone levels in defensive withdrawal at doses of 3.0 mg/kg and higher. These doses also resulted in levels of DMP904 in plasma similar to (for anxiolytic-like effects) or 4-fold higher (for effects on the HPA axis) than the in vitro IC(50) value for binding affinity at CRF(1) receptors and greater than 50% occupancy of CRF(1) receptors. Unlike alprazolam, DMP904 did not produce sedation, ataxia, or chlordiazepoxide-like subjective effects (as measured by locomotor activity, rotorod performance, and chlordiazepoxide discrimination assays, respectively) at doses at least 3-fold higher than anxiolytic-like doses. In conclusion, anxiolytic-like effects and effects on the stress-activated HPA axis of DMP904 in the defensive withdrawal model of anxiety required 50% or greater occupancy of central CRF(1) receptors. This level of CRF(1) receptor occupancy resulted in fewer motoric side effects compared with classic benzodiazepines.
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PMID:Anxiolytic-like effects of the corticotropin-releasing factor1 (CRF1) antagonist DMP904 [4-(3-pentylamino)-2,7-dimethyl-8-(2-methyl-4-methoxyphenyl)-pyrazolo-[1,5-a]-pyrimidine] administered acutely or chronically at doses occupying central CRF1 receptors in rats. 1474 50

Benzodiazepines remain widely used for the treatment of anxiety disorders despite prominent, often limiting side effects including sedation, muscle relaxation, and ataxia. A compound producing a robust anxiolytic action comparable to benzodiazepines, but lacking these limiting side effects at therapeutic doses (an anxioselective agent), would represent an important advance in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder, and perhaps other anxiety disorders. Here we report that the pyrazolo[1,5-a]-pyrimidine, ocinaplon, exhibits an anxioselective profile in both preclinical procedures and in patients with generalized anxiety disorder, the most common of the anxiety disorders. In rats, ocinaplon produces significant muscle relaxation, ataxia, and sedation only at doses >25-fold higher than the minimum effective dose (3.1 mg/kg) in the Vogel "conflict" test. This anticonflict effect is blocked by flumazenil (Ro 15-1788), indicating that like benzodiazepines, ocinaplon produces an anxiolytic action through allosteric modulation of GABA(A) receptors. Nonetheless, in eight recombinant GABA(A) receptor isoforms expressed in Xenopus oocytes, the potency and efficacy of ocinaplon to potentiate GABA responses varied with subunit composition not only in an absolute sense, but also relative to the prototypical benzodiazepine, diazepam. In a double blind, placebo controlled clinical trial, a 2-week regimen of ocinaplon (total daily dose of 180-240 mg) produced statistically significant reductions in the Hamilton rating scale for anxiety scores. In this study, the incidence of benzodiazepine-like side effects (e.g., sedation, dizziness) in ocinaplon-treated patients did not differ from placebo. These findings indicate that ocinaplon represents a unique approach both for the treatment and understanding of anxiety disorders.
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PMID:Selective anxiolysis produced by ocinaplon, a GABA(A) receptor modulator. 1587 Jan 87

4-(Phenylamino)-5-phenyl-7-(5-deoxy-beta-D-ribofuranosyl)pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine 1 and related compounds known as "diaryltubercidin" analogues are potent inhibitors of adenosine kinase (AK) and are orally active in animal models of pain such as the rat formalin paw model (GP3269 ED50= 6.4 mg/kg). However, the utility of this compound class is limited by poor water solubility that can be attributed to the high energy of crystallization caused by stacking of the parallel C4 and C5 aryl rings in the solid state (compound 1 and GP3269 each with pH 7.4 solubility <0.05 microg/mL). To increase water solubility, the hydrophobic C4-phenylamino substituent was replaced with a more hydrophilic group, glycinamide. This modification resulted in improved water solubility while retaining AK inhibition potency. Analogues were studied where changes in the glycinamide moiety were combined with changes to the base and sugar. A lead compound, 4-N-(N-cyclopropylcarbamoylmethyl)amino-5-phenyl-7-(5-deoxy-beta-D-ribofuranosyl)pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine (16c) (IC50= 3 nM and water solubility = 32 +/- 9 microg/mL at pH 7.4), was further characterized in biological assays. Compound 16c exhibited strong oral efficacy in the rat formalin paw model (ED50 of 2.5 mg/kg). In the most advanced assay, 16c was found to inhibit bradykinin-induced licking in marmoset monkeys with an ED50 estimated at 0.9 mg/kg without producing evidence of side effects such as ataxia, sedation, and emesis at this dose. However, lethal toxicity in the rat formalin paw model occurred with high doses of 16c, and further work on this series was discontinued.
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PMID:Adenosine kinase inhibitors. 6. Synthesis, water solubility, and antinociceptive activity of 5-phenyl-7-(5-deoxy-beta-D-ribofuranosyl)pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidines substituted at C4 with glycinamides and related compounds. 1630 20

Voltage-gated Na(+) channels may play important roles in establishing pathological neuronal hyperexcitability associated with chronic pain in humans. Na(+) channel blockers, such as carbamazepine (CBZ) and lamotrigine (LTG), are efficacious in treating neuropathic pain; however, their therapeutic utility is compromised by central nervous system side effects. We reasoned that it may be possible to gain superior control over pain states and, in particular, a better therapeutic index, by designing broad-spectrum Na(+) channel blockers with higher potency, faster onset kinetics, and greater levels of state dependence than existing drugs. 2-[4-(4-Chloro-2-fluorophenoxy)phenyl]-pyrimidine-4-carboxamide (PPPA) is a novel structural analog of the state-dependent Na(+) channel blocker V102862 [4-(4-fluorophenoxy)benzaldehyde semicarbazone]. Tested on recombinant rat Na(v)1.2 channels and native Na(+) currents in cultured rat dorsal root ganglion neurons, PPPA was approximately 1000 times more potent, had 2000-fold faster binding kinetics, and > or =10-fold higher levels of state dependence than CBZ and LTG. Tested in rat pain models against mechanical endpoints, PPPA had minimal effective doses of 1 to 3 mg/kg p.o. in partial sciatic nerve ligation, Freund's complete adjuvant, and postincisional pain. In all cases, efficacy was similar to clinically relevant comparators. Importantly, PPPA did not produce motor deficits in the accelerating Rotarod assay of ataxia at doses up to 30 mg/kg p.o., indicating a therapeutic index >10, which was superior to CBZ and LTG. Our experiments suggest that high-potency, broad-spectrum, state-dependent Na(+) channel blockers will have clinical utility for treating neuropathic, inflammatory, and postsurgical pain. Optimizing the biophysical parameters of broad-spectrum voltage-gated Na(+) channel blockers may lead to improved pain therapeutics.
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PMID:Pharmacology of 2-[4-(4-chloro-2-fluorophenoxy)phenyl]-pyrimidine-4-carboxamide: a potent, broad-spectrum state-dependent sodium channel blocker for treating pain states. 1672 93

Autosomal dominant Progressive External Ophthalmoplegias are Mendelian disorders characterized by the accumulation of multiple deletions of mitochondrial DNA in critical tissues. Most of the Autosomal dominant Progressive External Ophthalmoplegias families carry heterozygous mutations in one of three genes: ANT1, encoding the muscle-heart specific mitochondrial adenine nucleotide translocator, Twinkle, encoding the mitochondrial DNA helicase, and POLG1, encoding the catalytic subunit of the mitochondrial DNA-specific polymerase. Mutations in both POLG1 alleles are also found in autosomal recessive Progressive External Ophthalmoplegias sibships with multiple affected members and in apparently sporadic cases. In addition, recessive POLG1 mutations are responsible for three additional diseases: Alpers-Huttenlocher hepatopathic poliodystrophy, Sensory-Ataxic Neuropathy Dysarthria and Ophthalmoplegia and juvenile SpinoCerebellar Ataxia-Epilepsy syndrome. Mitochondrial neuro-gastro-intestinal encephalomyopathy is an autosomal recessive disorder of juvenile onset, caused by mutations in the gene encoding Thymidine Phosphorylase. Thymidine Phosphorylase is involved in the control and maintenance of the pyrimidine nucleoside pool of the cell. Finally, mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome is a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by a reduction in mitochondrial DNA copy number. Clinically, they include a myopathic form, a more generalized encephalomyopathic form and a fatal infantile hepato-cerebral syndrome leading to rapidly progressive liver and brain failure. To date, eight genes have been associated with mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome. Novel disease genes have recently been added to this list, including OPA1 and GFER, and new clinical variants add further complexity to this expanding area of mitochondrial medicine.
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PMID:Encephalomyopathies caused by abnormal nuclear-mitochondrial intergenomic cross-talk. 1977 89


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