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

Spreading acidification and depression (SAD) is a form of propagated activity in the cerebellar cortex characterized by acidification and a transient depression in excitability. This study investigated the role of Kv1 potassium channels in SAD using neutral red, flavoprotein autofluorescence, and voltage-sensitive dye optical imaging in the mouse cerebellar cortex, in vivo. The probability of evoking SAD was greatly increased by blocking Kv1.1 as well as Kv1.2 potassium channels by their specific blockers dendrotoxin K (DTX-K) and tityustoxin (TsTX), respectively. DTX-K not only greatly lowered the threshold for evoking SAD but also resulted in multiple cycles of spread and spontaneous SAD. The occurrence of spontaneous SAD originating from spontaneous parallel fiber-like beams of activity suggests that blocking Kv1 channels increased parallel fiber excitability. This was confirmed by the generation of parallel fiber-like beams with the microinjection of glutamate into the upper molecular layer in the presence of DTX-K. The dramatic effects of DTX-K suggest a possible connection between SAD and episodic ataxia type 1 (EA1), a Kv1.1 potassium channelopathy. The threshold for evoking SAD was significantly lowered in the Kv1.1 heterozygous knockout mouse compared with wild-type littermates. Carbamazepine and acetazolamide, both effective in the treatment of EA1, significantly decreased the likelihood of evoking SAD. Blocking GABAergic neurotransmission did not alter the effectiveness of DTX-K. The cyclin D2 null mouse, which lacks cerebellar stellate cells, also exhibited SAD. Therefore blocking Kv1 potassium channels establishes the conditions needed to generate SAD. Furthermore, the results are consistent with the hypothesis that SAD may underlie the transient attacks of ataxia characterizing EA1.
 ...
PMID:Involvement of kv1 potassium channels in spreading acidification and depression in the cerebellar cortex. 1584 81

The tottering mouse is an autosomal recessive disorder involving a missense mutation in the gene encoding P/Q-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channels. The tottering mouse has a characteristic phenotype consisting of transient attacks of dystonia triggered by stress, caffeine, or ethanol. The neural events underlying these episodes of dystonia are unknown. Flavoprotein autofluorescence optical imaging revealed transient, low-frequency oscillations in the cerebellar cortex of anesthetized and awake tottering mice but not in wild-type mice. Analysis of the frequencies, spatial extent, and power were used to characterize the oscillations. In anesthetized mice, the dominant frequencies of the oscillations are between 0.039 and 0.078 Hz. The spontaneous oscillations in the tottering mouse organize into high power domains that propagate to neighboring cerebellar cortical regions. In the tottering mouse, the spontaneous firing of 83% (73/88) of cerebellar cortical neurons exhibit oscillations at the same low frequencies. The oscillations are reduced by removing extracellular Ca2+ and blocking L-type Ca2+ channels. The oscillations are likely generated intrinsically in the cerebellar cortex because they are not affected by blocking AMPA receptors or by electrical stimulation of the parallel fiber-Purkinje cell circuit. Furthermore, local application of an L-type Ca2+ agonist in the tottering mouse generates oscillations with similar properties. The beam-like response evoked by parallel fiber stimulation is reduced in the tottering mouse. In the awake tottering mouse, transcranial flavoprotein imaging revealed low-frequency oscillations that are accentuated during caffeine-induced attacks of dystonia. During dystonia, oscillations are also present in the face and hindlimb electromyographic (EMG) activity that become significantly coherent with the oscillations in the cerebellar cortex. These low-frequency oscillations and associated cerebellar cortical dysfunction demonstrate a novel abnormality in the tottering mouse. These oscillations are hypothesized to be involved in the episodic movement disorder in this mouse model of episodic ataxia type 2.
 ...
PMID:Low-frequency oscillations in the cerebellar cortex of the tottering mouse. 1898 21

Increased levels of the organic acid, 2-ethylhydracrylic acid (2-EHA) occur in urine of subjects with impaired L(+)-isoleucine metabolism. Chiral intermediates formed during isoleucine degradation are (S) enantiomers. Blockage of (S) pathway flux drives racemization of (2S, 3S) L(+)-isoleucine and its (2S, 3R) stereoisomer, L(+)-alloisoleucine. This non-protein amino acid is metabolized to (R)-2-methylbutyryl CoA via enzymes common to branched chain amino acid degradation. Subsequently, (R) intermediates serve as alternate substrates for three valine metabolic enzymes, generating 2-EHA. Once formed, 2-EHA accumulates because it is poorly recognized by distal valine pathway enzymes. Thus, urinary 2-EHA represents a biomarker of isoleucine pathway defects. 2-EHA levels are also increased in rats exposed to the industrial solvent, ethylene glycol monomethyl ether or the neurotoxin precursor, 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine. In these cases, a block in (S) pathway isoleucine catabolism occurs at the level of (S)-2-methylbutyryl CoA conversion to tiglyl CoA via inhibition of electron transferring flavoprotein/ubiquinone oxidoreductase dependent reactions. Elevated urinary 2-EHA in propionyl CoA carboxylase deficiency and methylmalonic aciduria results from a buildup of distal intermediates in the (S) pathway of isoleucine degradation. In Barth syndrome and dilated cardiomyopathy with ataxia syndrome, 2-EHA is a byproduct of impeded propionyl CoA entry into the Krebs cycle.
...
PMID:Metabolic annotation of 2-ethylhydracrylic acid. 2611 94