Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0013421 (dystonia)
 8,418 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In the dt(sz) mutant hamster with idiopathic generalized dystonia, functional abnormalities of several neurotransmitters have been suggested to play a role in the development of symptoms. In the present study, we have used histochemistry with (35)S-ATP labeled oligonucleotides to determine whether these abnormalities are associated with modulation in the expression of neurotransmitter genes in motor regions. We examined the expression of genes encoding cholecystokinin (CCK), somatostatin (SRIF), thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and growth-associated protein 43 (GAP43) in the cortex and basal ganglia of dystonic hamsters and of non-dystonic control hamsters of a related inbred line and of a non-related outbred line. The distribution of these mRNAs in normal hamster brain was similar to that in normal rat brain. In all cortical regions studied (frontal, parietal and piriformis), the expression of CCK was similar in dystonic and inbred controls but was significantly greater than in outbred controls. In the anterior thalamus, CCK expression was lower in dystonic hamsters than in both control groups. SRIF expression was significantly decreased in the cortex and striatum of dystonic animals than in inbred and outbred control hamsters. GAD expression was lower in the striatum and substantia nigra, pars reticulata of dystonic than in outbred hamsters, but similar values were found in all groups in the other regions studied. TH was lower in the substantia nigra of dystonic than in inbred controls. No changes were found in GAP43 expression. This study demonstrates that changes in modulation of the expression of some peptides and neurotransmitter enzymes can be found in the dystonic hamster, which is in contrast to other animal models such as the dystonic rat, where no such changes have been found. The present data are consistent with previous findings in dt(sz) hamsters that suggest a dysfunction within the basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuits.
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PMID:Expression of cholecystokinin, somatostatin, thyrotropin-releasing hormone, glutamic acid decarboxylase and tyrosine hydroxylase genes in the central nervous motor systems of the genetically dystonic hamster. 1055 May 8

Mammalian motor activity displays circadian patterns in normal behaviour and in many movement disorders, like levodopa responsive dystonia and Parkinson's disease. Here, we hypothesized that a circadian pattern of dopamine synthesis would trigger rhythms in the expression of genes in regions receiving dopaminergic innervation. Indeed tyrosine hydroxylase and cholecystokinin mRNA were upregulated in the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area in the course of the day. However, in the caudate putamen, the mRNA levels, for dopamine D2 and adenosine 2A receptor, dynorphin, and substance P were lower during the day than during the night, whereas the expression of dopamine D1 receptor, enkephalin, and somatostatin was stable. In the frontal cortex, a clear midday peak of enkephalin expression was detected, while cholecystokinin and vasoactive intestinal peptide expression did not vary. Clear circadian gene expression patterns can therefore be demonstrated in brain regions involved in motor regulation, but they do not follow a simple dopaminergic drive and more complex regulatory patterns have to be assumed.
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PMID:Circadian patterns of neurotransmitter related gene expression in motor regions of the rat brain. 1501 24