Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0004352 (autism)
 32,579 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Platelet serotonin (5-HT) studies were conducted with 12 hyperserotonemic and 12 normoserotonemic age-, sex-, and relationship-matched relatives of autistic probands. Each group consisted of 7 mothers, 4 fathers, and 1 sister of autistic children and adolescents. The density (Bmax) of platelet 5-HT2 receptor binding sites, labelled with [3H]-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), was significantly lower in 11 hyperserotonemic subjects compared to 12 normoserotonemic subjects (40.9 +/- 13.5 fmol/mg protein, 59.6 +/- 13.2; p < 0.004). The affinity (Kd) for [3H]-LSD binding did not differ. Although the density (Bmax) of [3H]-paroxetine binding did not differ between groups, there was a small difference in the affinity (Kd) for [3H]-paroxetine binding (hyperserotonemic 47.6 +/- 9.0 pM, normoserotonemic 54.8 +/- 12.1; p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in platelet 5-HT uptake, or in thrombin-stimulated 5-HT release. Basal, 5-HT-stimulated, and arginine-vasopressin (AVP)-stimulated inositol phosphate production, as well as basal, prostaglandin E1 (PGE1)-, and forskolin-stimulated cAMP production did not differ. There were significant correlations between whole blood 5-HT levels and LSD Bmax (rs = -0.63, N = 23, p < 0.002) and whole blood 5-HT levels and 5-HT uptake Vmax (rs = 0.56, N = 18, p < 0.02). However, [3H]-LSD labelled 5-HT2 binding and 5-HT uptake were not correlated with each other. Hyperserotonemia of autism may be heterogeneous with one subgroup of subjects with increased 5-HT uptake and another subgroup with decreased 5-HT2 binding.
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PMID:Platelet serotonin studies in hyperserotonemic relatives of children with autistic disorder. 768 5

The essential contribution of the antidepressant-sensitive serotonin (5-HT) transporter SERT (which is encoded by the SLC6A4 gene) to platelet 5-HT stores suggests an important role of this transporter in platelet function. Here, using SERT-deficient mice, we have established a role for constitutive SERT expression in efficient ADP- and thrombin-triggered platelet aggregation. Additionally, using pharmacological blockers of SERT and the vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT), we have identified a role for ongoing 5-HT release and SERT activity in efficient human platelet aggregation. We have also demonstrated that fibrinogen, an activator of integrin alphaIIbbeta3, enhances SERT activity in human platelets and that integrin alphaIIbbeta3 interacts directly with the C terminus of SERT. Consistent with these findings, knockout mice lacking integrin beta3 displayed diminished platelet SERT activity. Conversely, HEK293 cells engineered to express human SERT and an activated form of integrin beta3 exhibited enhanced SERT function that coincided with elevated SERT surface expression. Our results support an unsuspected role of alphaIIbbeta3/SERT associations as well as alphaIIbbeta3 activation in control of SERT activity in vivo that may have broad implications for hyperserotonemia, cardiovascular disorders, and autism.
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PMID:Interactions between integrin alphaIIbbeta3 and the serotonin transporter regulate serotonin transport and platelet aggregation in mice and humans. 1831 90

Recent studies implicate extracellular proteases in synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory. The data are especially strong for such serine proteases as thrombin, tissue plasminogen activator, neurotrypsin, and neuropsin as well as matrix metalloproteinases, MMP-9 in particular. The role of those enzymes in the aforementioned phenomena is supported by the experimental results on the expression patterns (at the gene expression and protein and enzymatic activity levels) and functional studies, including knockout mice, specific inhibitors, etc. Counterintuitively, the studies have shown that the extracellular proteolysis is not responsible mainly for an overall degradation of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and loosening perisynaptic structures, but rather allows for releasing signaling molecules from the ECM, transsynaptic proteins, and latent form of growth factors. Notably, there are also indications implying those enzymes in the major neuropsychiatric disorders, probably by contributing to synaptic aberrations underlying such diseases as schizophrenia, bipolar, autism spectrum disorders, and drug addiction.
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PMID:Neural ECM proteases in learning and synaptic plasticity. 2541 Mar 56