Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0025362 (mental retardation)
 15,878 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) deficiency is a rare inherited disease accounting for approximately 4% of patients with severe combined immunodeficiency. Thirty-three patients have been reported. PNP-deficient patients suffer from recurrent infections, usually beginning in the first year of life. Two thirds of patients have evidence of neurologic disorders. Findings range from spasticity to developmental delay, to mental retardation. One third of patients develop autoimmune disease. The most common manifestation of this is autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura and systemic lupus erythematosis have also been reported. Patients usually present with infections but approximately one fourth have come to medical care initially for neurological problems. In PNP deficiency, T- and B-cell immunity are affected. T-cell function may be profoundly deficient, may be normal at birth and then decrease with time, or may fluctuate repeatedly between low and normal. B-cell function can be normal but is deficient in approximately one third of patients. PNP protein is a trimer of approximately 90,000 daltons. It is found in most tissues of the body but is at highest levels in lymphoid tissues. This tissue distribution explains why the lymphoid system is predominantly affected in PNP deficiency. Many mechanisms have been proposed to explain the metabolic toxicity in PNP deficiency. The elevated dGTP found in PNP deficiency is thought to inhibit ribonucleotide reductase and, thus, impede cell division. Depressed GTP levels may correlate with neurologic dysfunction. The gene for PNP has been cloned; it is located on the long arm of chromosome 14. Studies of a mutant PNP gene isolated from one patient showed that a point mutation resulting in an amino acid substitution was responsible for PNP deficiency. PNP deficiency has a grave prognosis. No patient has reached the third decade of life. Twenty-nine of the 33 reported patients have died from their disease. Prenatal diagnosis is currently available. Many different therapies have been utilized for PNP deficiency including bone marrow transplantation, red cell transfusions, and supplementation of the diet with purines and pyrimidines. None of these therapies has been consistently successful. In light of the poor prognosis for PNP deficiency, bone marrow transplantation should be considered for all patients. In the future, improved forms of therapy such as gene therapy may become available.
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PMID:Purine nucleoside phosphorylase deficiency. 193 Oct 7

The neural cell adhesion molecule L1 mediates the axon outgrowth, adhesion, and fasciculation necessary for proper development of synaptic connections. Mutations of human L1 cause an X-linked mental retardation syndrome termed CRASH (corpus callosum hypoplasia, retardation, aphasia, spastic paraplegia, and hydrocephalus), and L1 knock-out mice display defects in neuronal process extension resembling the CRASH phenotype. Little is known about the biochemical or cellular mechanism by which L1 performs neuronal functions. Here it is demonstrated that clustering of L1 with antibodies or L1 protein in rodent B35 neuroblastoma and cerebellar neuron cultures induced the phosphorylation/activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2. MAPK activation was essential for L1-dependent neurite outgrowth, because chemical inhibitors [2-(2'-amino-3'-methoxyphenyl)-oxanaphthalen-4-one and 1,4-diamino-2, 3-dicyano-1,4-bis(2-aminophenylthio)butadiene] of the MAPK kinase MEK strongly suppressed neurite outgrowth by cerebellar neurons on L1. The nonreceptor tyrosine kinase pp60(c-src) was required for L1-triggered MAPK phosphorylation, as shown in src-minus cerebellar neurons and by expression of the kinase-inactive mutant Src(K295M) in B35 neuroblastoma cells. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) and the small GTPase p21(rac) were identified as signaling intermediates to MAPK by phosphoinositide and Rac-GTP assays and expression of inhibitory mutants. Antibody-induced endocytosis of L1, visualized by immunofluorescence staining and confocal microscopy of B35 cells, was blocked by expression of kinase-inactive Src(K295M) and dominant-negative dynamin(K44A) but not by inhibitors of MEK or PI3-kinase. Dynamin(K44A) also inhibited L1 antibody-triggered MAPK phosphorylation. This study supports a model in which pp60(c-src) regulates dynamin-mediated endocytosis of L1 as an essential step in MAPK-dependent neurite outgrowth on an L1 substrate.
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PMID:A MAP kinase-signaling pathway mediates neurite outgrowth on L1 and requires Src-dependent endocytosis. 1081 53

Mental retardation (MR) is one of the most common human disorders. MR may be just one of the clinical signs of a complex syndrome or it may be associated with metabolic disorders or with disorders of brain development, but in many patients [nonspecific MR (NSMR)], it is the only consistent clinical manifestation. It is expected that NSMR is caused by alterations in molecular pathways important for cognitive functions. Insights into NSMR have recently come from the study of X-linked MR as eight genes were identified during the last few years. This development has represented a fundamental breakthrough in our understanding of NSMR and of cognitive functions and has opened new perspectives in the study of MR. The new genes identified are a heterogeneous group, but it is very intriguing that they are all directly or indirectly involved in signaling pathways and that the majority are proteins that regulate members of the Ras superfamily of small GTP binding proteins.
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PMID:In search of the MRX genes. 1144 91

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a tumor suppressor gene syndrome characterized by seizures, mental retardation, autism, and tumors of the brain, kidney, heart, retina, and skin. TSC is caused by mutations in either TSC1 or TSC2, both of which are tumor suppressor genes. Hamartin, the protein product of TSC1, was found to interact with the ezrin-radixin-moesin family of cytoskeletal proteins and to activate the small GTPase Rho. To determine whether tuberin, the TSC2 product, can also activate Rho, we stably expressed full-length human tuberin in two cell types: MDCK cells and ELT3 cells. ELT3 cells lack endogenous tuberin expression. We found that expression of human tuberin in both MDCK and ELT3 cells was associated with an increase in the amount of Rho-GTP, but not in Rac1-GTP or cdc42-GTP. Tuberin expression increased cell adhesion in both cell types, and decreased chemotactic cell migration in ELT3 cells. In MDCK cells, there was a decrease in the amount of total Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) and an increase in the fraction of phosphorylated FAK. These findings demonstrate for the first time that tuberin activates Rho and regulates cell adhesion and migration. Pathways involving Rho activation may have relevance to the clinical manifestations of TSC, including pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis.
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PMID:Tuberin, the tuberous sclerosis complex 2 tumor suppressor gene product, regulates Rho activation, cell adhesion and migration. 1246 66

Here we explore the activation mechanisms of human TRPC5, a putative cationic channel that was cloned from a region of the X chromosome associated with mental retardation. No basal activity was evident but activity was induced by carbachol stimulation of muscarinic receptors independently of Ca2+ release. This is 'receptor activation', as described for mouse TRPC5. In addition, and in the absence of receptor stimulation, extracellular gadolinium (0.1 mm) activated TRPC5, an effect that was mimicked by 5-20 mm extracellular Ca2+ with intracellular Ca2+ buffered. We refer to this as 'external ionic activation'. TRPC5 was also activated by modest elevation of [Ca2+]i in the absence of GTP--'calcium activation'. A putative fourth activation mechanism is a signal from depleted intracellular Ca2+ stores. Consistent with this idea, human TRPC5 was activated by a standard store-depletion/Ca2+ re-entry protocol, an effect that was difficult to explain by calcium activation. Multiplicity of TRPC5 activation was demonstrated in single cells and thus not dependent on heterogeneity of expression levels or cellular context. Therefore, human TRPC5 is activated by a range of stimuli, avoiding dependence on a single critical activator as in many other ion channels. One of these stimuli would seem to be a change in Ca2+ handling by the endoplasmic reticulum.
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PMID:Human TRPC5 channel activated by a multiplicity of signals in a single cell. 1525 49

The Cool-2 (cloned-out of library-2) protein (identical to alpha-Pix for Pak-interactive exchange factor) has been implicated in various biological responses including chemoattractant signaling and in certain forms of mental retardation. We show that when Cool-2 exists as a dimer, it functions as a Rac-specific guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF). Dimerization of Cool-2 enables its Dbl (diffuse B-cell lymphoma) and pleckstrin homology domains to work together (in trans) to bind specifically to Rac-GDP. Dissociation of dimeric Cool-2 into its monomeric form allows it to act as a GEF for Cdc42 as well as for Rac. The binding of either PAK (p21-activated kinase) or Cbl (Casitas B-lymphoma) to the SH3 domain of monomeric Cool-2 is necessary for the functional interactions between GDP-bound Cdc42 or Rac and the Cool-2 monomer. The betagamma subunit complex of large GTP-binding proteins, by interacting with PAK, stimulates the dissociation of the Cool-2 dimer and activates its GEF activity for Cdc42. Overall, these findings highlight novel mechanisms by which extracellular signals can direct the specific activation of Rac versus Cdc42 by Cool-2/alpha-Pix.
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PMID:Novel regulatory mechanisms for the Dbl family guanine nucleotide exchange factor Cool-2/alpha-Pix. 1530 50

Defect of the purine salvage enzyme, hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT), results in Lesch-Nyhan disease (LND). It is unknown how the metabolic defect translates into the severe neuropsychiatric phenotype characterized by self-injurious behavior, dystonia and mental retardation. There are abnormalities in GTP, UTP and CTP concentrations in HPRT-deficient cells. Moreover, GTP, ITP, XTP, UTP and CTP differentially support Gs-protein-mediated adenylyl cyclase (AC) activation. Based on these findings we hypothesized that abnormal AC regulation may constitute the missing link between HPRT deficiency and the neuropsychiatric symptoms in LND. To test this hypothesis, we studied AC activity in membranes from primary human skin and immortalized mouse skin fibroblasts, mouse Neuro-2a neuroblastoma cells and rat B103 neuroblastoma cells. In B103 control membranes, GTP, ITP, XTP and UTP exhibited profound stimulatory effects on basal AC activity that approached the effects of hydrolysis-resistant nucleotide analogs. In HPRT- membranes, the stimulatory effects of GTP, ITP, XTP and UTP were strongly reduced. Similarly, in human and mouse skin fibroblast membranes we also observed a decrease in GTP-stimulated AC activity in HPRT-deficient cells compared with the respective controls. In mouse Neuro-2a neuroblastoma membranes, AC activity in the presence of GTP was below the detection limit of the assay. We discuss several possibilities to explain the abnormalities in AC regulation in HPRT deficiency that encompass various species and cell types.
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PMID:Decreased GTP-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity in HPRT-deficient human and mouse fibroblast and rat B103 neuroblastoma cell membranes. 1633 32

The Cool (Cloned out of Library)/Pix (Pak interactive exchange factor) proteins have been implicated in a diversity of biological activities, ranging from pathways initiated by growth factors and chemoattractants to X-linked mental retardation. Initially discovered through yeast two-hybrid and biochemical analyses as binding partners for the Cdc42/Rac-target/effector, Pak (p21 activated kinase), the sequences for the Cool/Pix proteins revealed a DH (Dbl homology) domain. Because the DH domain is the limit functional unit for stimulating guanine nucleotide exchange on Rho family GTP-binding proteins, it was assumed that the Cool/Pix proteins would act as guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) for the Rho proteins. Of the three known isoforms, (p50Cool-1, p85Cool-1/beta-Pix, and 90Cool-2/alpha-Pix), only Cool-2/alpha-Pix has exhibited significant GEF activity. A number of experimental techniques have been used to characterize Cool-2, and in vitro analysis has revealed that its GEF activity is under tight control through intramolecular interactions involving several binding partners. Here we describe the biochemical methods used to study the Cool/Pix proteins and, in particular, the regulation of the GEF activity of Cool-2/alpha-Pix.
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PMID:Biochemical characterization of the Cool (Cloned-out-of-Library)/Pix (Pak-interactive exchange factor) proteins. 1647 49

Costello syndrome is a mental retardation syndrome characterized by high birth weight, postnatal growth retardation, coarse face, loose skin, cardiovascular problems, and tumor predisposition. De novo heterozygous missense mutations in HRAS codon 12 and 13 disturbing the intrinsic GTP hydrolysis cause Costello syndrome. We report a patient with typical Costello syndrome and a novel heterozygous missense mutation in codon 117 (c.350A>G, p.Lys117Arg) of the HRAS gene, resulting in constitutive activation of the RAS/MAPK pathway similar to the typical p.Gly12Ser and p.Gly12Ala mutations. Recombinant HRAS p.Lys117Arg demonstrates normal intrinsic GTP hydrolysis and responsiveness to GTPase-activating proteins, but the nucleotide dissociation rate is increased 80-fold. Consistent with the biochemical data, the crystal structure of the p.Lys117Arg mutant indicates an altered interaction pattern of the side chain that is associated with unfavorable nucleotide binding properties. Together, these data show that a RAS mutation that only perturbs guanine nucleotide binding has similar functional consequences as mutations that impair GTP hydrolysis and causes human disease.
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PMID:Mutation analysis in Costello syndrome: functional and structural characterization of the HRAS p.Lys117Arg mutation. 1797 97

Evidence is accumulating that Rab3A plays a key role in neurotransmitter release and synaptic plasticity. Recently mutations in the catalytic subunit p130 and the noncatalytic subunit p150 of Rab3 GTPase-activating protein were found to cause Warburg Micro syndrome and Martsolf syndrome, respectively, both of which exhibit mental retardation. We have found that loss of p130 in mice results in inhibition of Ca2+-dependent glutamate release from cerebrocortical synaptosomes and alters short-term plasticity in the hippocampal CA1 region, probably through the accumulation of the GTP-bound form of Rab3A. Here, we describe the procedures for the measurement of the GTP-bound pool of Rab3A with pull-down assay using mouse brains and the biochemical method for the measurement of glutamate release from mouse synaptosomes.
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PMID:Analysis on the emerging role of Rab3 GTPase-activating protein in Warburg Micro and Martsolf syndrome. 1841 45


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