Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0014547 (focal epilepsy)
 1,627 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

At variance with the rat, previous observations disclosed the presence of long interlaminar astroglial processes in the cerebral cortex of adult nonhuman primates. To examine its presence in human cerebral cortex, samples of frontal and temporal cerebral cortices were obtained during programmed brain surgery from a young patient with an intraventricular astrocytoma, and from one young and two adult patients with frontal and temporal lobe focal epilepsy, respectively. Samples of the visual cortex were also obtained at an autopsy of an 84-year-old woman without any known neurological disease. Brain tissues were processed for GFAP-IR immunocytochemistry. Long, interlaminar, GFAP-IR astroglial processes of usually 300-500 microm, but occasionally reaching almost 1,000 microm, were observed. These processes resembled those previously described in the cerebral cortex of adult New World monkeys. Available data suggest that they may represent a predominant characteristic in postnatal primate cerebral cortex. EM analysis of club-like endings disclosed a multilamellar organization of GFAP-IR intermediate filaments, and the presence of mitochondria and amorphous, electron dense material. Their possible function is yet to be determined.
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PMID:Immunocytochemical and electron microscope observations on astroglial interlaminar processes in the primate neocortex. 916 61

Glioneuronal tumours, including gangliogliomas and dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumours, represent the most common low-grade epilepsy-associated brain tumours and are a well-recognized cause of intractable focal epilepsy in children and young adults. Classification is predominantly based on histological features, which is difficult due to the broad histological spectrum of these tumours. The aim of the present study was to find molecular markers that can be used to identify entities within the histopathology spectrum of glioneuronal tumours. The focus of this study was on microRNAs (miRNAs). miRNAs are important post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression and are involved in the pathogenesis of different neurological diseases and oncogenesis. Using a miRNA array, miR-519d and miR-4758 were found to be upregulated in gangliogliomas (n=26) compared to control cortex (n=17), peritumoural tissue (n=7), dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumours (n=9) and astrocytomas (grade I-IV; subependymal giant cell astrocytomas, n=10; pilocytic astrocytoma, n=15; diffuse astrocytoma grade II, n=10; grade III, n=14 and glioblastoma n=15). Furthermore, the PI3K/AKT3/P21 pathway, which is predicated to be targeted by miR-519d and miR-4758, was deregulated in gangliogliomas. Functionally, overexpression of miR-519d in an astrocytic cell line resulted in a downregulation of CDKN1A (P21) and an increase in cell proliferation, whereas co-transfection with miR-4758 counteracted this effect. These results suggest that miR-519d and miR-4758 might work in concert as regulators of the cell cycle in low grade gliomas. Furthermore, these miRNAs could be used to distinguish gangliogliomas from dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumours and other low and high grade gliomas and may lead to more targeted therapy.
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PMID:MicroRNA519d and microRNA4758 can identify gangliogliomas from dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumours and astrocytomas. 2996 64