Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0027819 (neuroblastoma)
27,800 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We have studied the effects of the phorbol ester, 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) on Huntington's disease (HD) gene transcription in neuronal and non-neuronal cell lines, to investigate pathways regulating HD gene expression. TPA reduced transcription from the HD gene promoter in SK-N-SH (neuroblastoma) and HeLa cells but not in JEG3 (choriocarcinoma) cells. In SK-N-SH cells, the responsible cis-acting promoter sequences comprise the tandemly duplicated Sp1 sites in the region from -213 to -174, relative to the translation start site. The TPA-down-regulating region in HeLa cells was mapped to the sequence from -141 to -126. In conclusion, this demonstrates that HD gene transcription can be down-regulated in vitro in a cell-specific manner.
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PMID:12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate down-regulates the Huntingtin promoter at Sp1 sites. 1104 41

The cause of Huntington's disease (HD) is a pathological expansion of the polyglutamine domain within the NH(2)-terminal region of huntingtin. Neuronal intranuclear inclusions and cytoplasmic aggregates composed of the mutant huntingtin within certain neuronal populations are a characteristic hallmark of HD. Because in vitro expanded polyglutamine repeats are glutaminyl-donor substrates of tissue transglutaminase (tTG), it has been hypothesized that tTG may contribute to the formation of these aggregates in HD. Therefore, it is of fundamental importance to establish whether tTG plays a significant role in the formation of mutant huntingtin aggregates in the cell. Human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells were stably transfected with truncated NH(2)-terminal huntingtin constructs containing 18 (wild type) or 82 (mutant) glutamines. In the cells expressing the mutant truncated huntingtin construct, numerous SDS-resistant aggregates were present in the cytoplasm and nucleus. Even though numerous aggregates were present in the mutant huntingtin-expressing cells, tTG did not coprecipitate with mutant truncated huntingtin. Further, tTG was totally excluded from the aggregates, and significantly increasing tTG expression had no effect on the number of aggregates or their intracellular localization (cytoplasm or nucleus). When a YFP-tagged mutant truncated huntingtin construct was transiently transfected into cells that express no detectable tTG due to stable transfection with a tTG antisense construct, there was extensive aggregate formation. These findings clearly demonstrate that tTG is not required for aggregate formation, and does not facilitate the process of aggregate formation. Therefore, in HD, as well as in other polyglutamine diseases, tTG is unlikely to play a role in the formation of aggregates.
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PMID:Tissue transglutaminase does not contribute to the formation of mutant huntingtin aggregates. 1128 71

The cause of Huntington's disease (HD) is a pathological expansion of the polyglutamine domain within the N-terminal region of huntingtin. Neuronal intranuclear inclusions and cytoplasmic aggregates composed of the mutant huntingtin within certain neuronal populations are a characteristic hallmark of HD. However, how the expanded polyglutamine repeats of mutant huntingtin cause HD is not known. Because in vitro expanded polyglutamine repeats are excellent glutaminyl-donor substrates of tissue transglutaminase (tTG), it has been hypothesized that tTG may contribute to the formation of these aggregates in HD. However, an association between huntingtin and tTG or modification of huntingtin by tTG has not been demonstrated in cells. To examine the interactions between tTG and huntingtin human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells were stably transfected with full-length huntingtin containing 23 (FL-Q23) (wild type) or 82 (FL-Q82) (mutant) glutamine repeats or a truncated N-terminal huntingtin construct containing 23 (Q23) (wild type) or 62 (Q62) (mutant) glutamine repeats. Aggregates were rarely observed in the cells expressing full-length mutant huntingtin, and no specific colocalization of full-length huntingtin and tTG was observed. In contrast, in cells expressing truncated mutant huntingtin (Q62) there were numerous complexes of truncated mutant huntingtin and many of these complexes co-localized with tTG. However, the complexes were not insoluble structures. Further, truncated huntingtin coimmunoprecipitated with tTG, and this association increased when tTG was activated. Activation of tTG did not result in the modification of either truncated or full-length huntingtin, however proteins that were associated with truncated mutant huntingtin were selectively modified by tTG. This study is the first to demonstrate that tTG specifically interacts with a truncated form of huntingtin, and that activated tTG selectively modifies mutant huntingtin-associated proteins. These data suggest that proteolysis of full-length mutant huntingtin likely precedes its interaction with tTG and this process may facilitate the modification of huntingtin-associated proteins and thus contribute to the etiology of HD.
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PMID:Tissue transglutaminase selectively modifies proteins associated with truncated mutant huntingtin in intact cells. 1144 49

We investigated the role of neurofilament (NF) proteins in Alzheimer disease (AD) neurofibrillary degeneration. The levels and degree of phosphorylation of NF proteins in AD neocortex were determined by Western blots developed with a panel of phosphorylation-dependent NF antibodies. Levels of all three NF subunits and the degree of phosphorylation of NF-H and NF-M were significantly increased in AD as compared to Huntington disease brains used as control tissue. The increase in the levels of NF-H and NF-M was 1.7- and 1.5-fold (P<0.01) as determined by monoclonal antibody SMI33, and was 1.6-fold (P<0.01) in NF-L using antibody NR4. The phosphorylation of NF-H and NF-M in AD was increased respectively at the SMI31 epitope by 1.6- and 1.9-fold (P<0.05) and at the SMI33 epitope by 2.7- and 1.3-fold (P<0.01 and P<0.05). Essentially similar effects were observed in SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells when treated with okadaic acid, an inhibitor of protein phosphatase (PP)-2A and -1. This is the first biochemical evidence which unambiguously demonstrates the hyperphosphorylation and the accumulation of NF subunits in AD brain, and shows that the inhibition of PP-2A/PP-1 activities can lead to the hyperphosphorylation of NF-H and NF-M subunits.
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PMID:Hyperphosphorylation and accumulation of neurofilament proteins in Alzheimer disease brain and in okadaic acid-treated SY5Y cells. 1168 63

Dentatorubral and pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder similar to Huntington's disease, with clinical manifestations including chorea, incoordination, ataxia, and dementia. It is caused by an expansion of a CAG trinucleotide repeat encoding polyglutamine in the atrophin-1 gene. Both patients and DRPLA transgenic mice have nuclear accumulation of atrophin-1, especially an approximately 120-kDa fragment, which appears to represent a cleavage product. We now show that this is an N-terminal fragment that does not correspond to the previously described caspase-3 fragment, or any other known caspase cleavage product. The atrophin-1 sequence contains a putative nuclear localization signal in the N terminus of the protein and a putative nuclear export signal in the C terminus. We have tested the hypothesis that endogenous localization signals are functional in atrophin-1, and that nuclear localization and proteolytic cleavage contribute to atrophin-1 cell toxicity. In transient cell transfection experiments using a neuroblastoma cell line, full-length atrophin-1 with 26 (normal) or 65 (expanded) glutamines localized to both nucleus and cytoplasm, with no significant difference in toxicity between the normal and mutant proteins. A construct with 65 glutamine repeats encoding an N-terminal fragment (which removes an NES) of atrophin-1 similar in size to the truncation product in DRPLA patient tissue, showed increased nuclear labeling, and an increase in cellular toxicity, compared with a similar fragment with 26 glutamines. Full-length atrophin-1 with 65 polyglutamine repeats and mutations inactivating the NES also yielded increased nuclear localization and increased toxicity. These data suggest that truncation enhances cellular toxicity of the mutant protein, and that the NES is a relevant region deleted during truncation. Furthermore, mutating the NLS in the truncated protein shifted atrophin-1 more to the cytoplasm and eliminated the increased toxicity, consistent with the idea that nuclear localization enhances toxicity. In none of the experiments were inclusions visible in the nucleus or cytoplasm suggesting that inclusion formation is unrelated to cell death. These data indicate that truncation of atrophin-1 may alter its ability to shuttle between the nucleus and cytoplasm, leading to abnormal nuclear interactions and cell toxicity.
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PMID:Nuclear localization of a non-caspase truncation product of atrophin-1, with an expanded polyglutamine repeat, increases cellular toxicity. 1246 7

In order to investigate any effect of truncated mutant huntingtin (tNhtt) aggregation on protein kinase C (PKC) signaling in Huntington's disease (HD), we studied a possible association of PKC isoforms with the aggregates using cellular and transgenic models of HD. In this report we describe an association of mutant tNhtt with at least three PKC isoforms (alpha, delta, zeta), as revealed by co-immunoprecipitation assays and immunocytochemistry in a cellular model of HD (Neuro2a cells expressing tNhtt-150Q-EGFP), as well as a specific association of PKC delta with intranuclear aggregates in a transgenic model (R6/2 mice). Immunoblot analysis of isolated nuclear fractions shows an elevation of nuclear PKC delta in transgenic brain tissue. The observed elevation has a strong similarity with the apoptotic translocation of PKC delta detected in experiments with the mouse neuroblastoma Neuro2a cells. Using a Neuro2a cell line expressing tNhtt with the nuclear localization signal, we demonstrate the association of PKC delta with intranuclear aggregates and present evidence that accumulation of PKC delta in cell nuclei does not depend on mutant htt nuclear translocation. Our results suggest that the association of PKC delta with intranuclear htt-aggregates may affect its apoptotic function in a transgenic model of HD.
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PMID:Pro-apoptotic protein kinase C delta is associated with intranuclear inclusions in a transgenic model of Huntington's disease. 1451 Nov 17

Huntington's disease (HD) is initiated by an abnormally expanded polyglutamine stretch in the huntingtin protein, conferring a novel property on the protein that leads to the loss of striatal neurons. Defects in mitochondrial function have been implicated in the pathogenesis of HD. Here, we have examined the hypothesis that the mutant huntingtin protein may directly interact with the mitochondrion and affect its function. In human neuroblastoma cells and clonal striatal cells established from HdhQ7 (wild-type) and HdhQ111 (mutant) homozygote mouse knock-in embryos, huntingtin was present in a purified mitochondrial fraction. Subfractionation of the mitochondria and limited trypsin digestion of the organelle demonstrated that huntingtin was associated with the outer mitochondrial membrane. We further demonstrated that a recombinant truncated mutant huntingtin protein, but not a wild-type, directly induced mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) pore opening in isolated mouse liver mitochondria, an effect that was prevented completely by cyclosporin A (CSA) and ATP. Importantly, the mutant huntingtin protein significantly decreased the Ca2+ threshold necessary to trigger MPT pore opening. We found a similar increased susceptibility to the calcium-induced MPT in liver mitochondria isolated from a knock-in HD mouse model. The mutant huntingtin protein-induced MPT pore opening was accompanied by a significant release of cytochrome c, an effect completely inhibited by CSA. These findings suggest that the development of specific MPT inhibitors may be an interesting therapeutic avenue to delay the onset of HD.
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PMID:Mutant huntingtin directly increases susceptibility of mitochondria to the calcium-induced permeability transition and cytochrome c release. 1516 34

Mutations in the human gene encoding the antidiuretic hormone vasopressin (VP) cause autosomal dominant familial neurohypophyseal diabetes insipidus (adFNDI), a rare inherited disorder that presents as polydipsia and polyuria as a consequence of a loss of secretion of VP from posterior pituitary nerve terminals. Work from our laboratories has shown that adFNDI, like other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's, is associated with autophagy. We have recently shown that the activation of autophagy in mouse neuroblastoma Neuro2a cells after adenoviral vector-mediated delivery of an adFNDI mutant VP transgene (Cys67stop) is a cell survival mechanism; its inhibition induces apoptosis. We now show that expression of Cys67stop sensitizes Neuro2a cells to the lethal effects of dopamine. This mode of cell death exhibits features typically associated with classical apoptosis. Yet inhibition of autophagy reversed these effects and rescued cell viability. We propose that autophagy-mediated cell death is a "two-hit" process: Following the cellular stress of the accumulation of a misfolded mutant protein, autophagy is prosurvival. However, a second insult triggers an autophagy-dependent apoptosis.
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PMID:Autophagy-dependent cell survival and cell death in an autosomal dominant familial neurohypophyseal diabetes insipidus in vitro model. 1578 8

Autosomal dominant familial neurohypophyseal diabetes insipidus (adFNDI) is a progressive, inherited neurodegenerative disorder that presents as polydipsia and polyuria as a consequence of a loss of secretion of the antidiuretic hormone vasopressin (VP) from posterior pituitary nerve terminals. VP gene mutations cause adFNDI. Rats expressing an adFNDI VP transgene (Cys67stop) show a neuronal pathology characterized by autophagic structures in the cell body. adFNDI has thus been added to the list of protein aggregation diseases, along with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's, which are associated with autophagy, a bulk process that delivers regions of cytosol to lysosomes for degradation. However, the role of autophagy in these diseases is unclear. To address the relationships between mutant protein accumulation, autophagy, cell survival, and cell death, we have developed a novel and tractable in vitro system. We have constructed adenoviral vectors (Ads) that express structural genes encoding either the Cys67stop mutant protein (Ad-VCAT-Cys67stop) or an epitope-tagged wild-type VP precursor (Ad-VCAT). After infection of mouse neuroblastoma Neuro2a cells, Ad-VCAT encoded material enters neurite processes and accumulates in terminals, while the Cys67stop protein is confined to enlarged vesicles in the cell body. Similar to the intracellular derangements seen in the Cys67stop rats, these structures are of ER origin, and colocalize with markers of autophagy. Neither Ad-VCAT-Cys67stop nor Ad-VCAT expression affected cell viability. However, inhibition of autophagy or lysosomal protein degradation, while having no effect on Ad-VCAT-expressing cells, significantly increased apoptotic cell death following Ad-VCAT-Cys67stop expression. These data suggest that activation of autophagy by the stress of the expression of an adFNDI mutant protein is a prosurvival mechanism.
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PMID:Autophagy is a prosurvival mechanism in cells expressing an autosomal dominant familial neurohypophyseal diabetes insipidus mutant vasopressin transgene. 1578 9

The accumulation of insoluble protein aggregates is a feature of neurodegenerative disease. Overexpression of Heat Shock Protein 70 (HSP70) can protect cells with protein aggregates from apoptosis. Another trait of HSP70 is its ability to cross the plasma membrane. Therefore, we purified a preparation of HSP70/HSC70 from bovine muscle and used it in a model of Huntington's disease. Human neuroblastoma SK-N-SH cells were transfected with huntington exon 1 with short (25) or long (103) CAG trinucleotide repeats coupled to green flourescent protein (GFP). Cells transfected with the long polyCAG repeat had insoluble protein aggregates and died through apoptosis. Biotinylated HSP70/HSC70 incorporated into the culture medium appeared inside the cells within 3-6 h of incubation. This incorporation correlated with a reduction in apoptotic cells by 40-50%. Confocal microscopy revealed that labelled internalized HSP70/HSC70 co-localized with the polyglutamine inclusions. The measurement of the number and size of inclusions showed that HSP70/HSC70 was able to reduce both these parameters. A filter trap assay and immunoblotting demonstrated that the introduction of HSP70/HSC70 also decreased protein aggregation. Together with earlier data on the effects of exogenously administered HSP70/HSC70 on cultured cells and on animals, these data show that preparations based on HSP70 may have some potential as therapies for a variety of neurodegenerative pathologies.
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PMID:Treatment with extracellular HSP70/HSC70 protein can reduce polyglutamine toxicity and aggregation. 1599 87


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