Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0030567 (Parkinson's disease)
 63,064 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

RNA is not a simple intermediate between DNA and proteins. RNA is widely transcribed from a variety of genomic regions, and researchers are extensively exploring the functional roles and the regulations of non-coding RNAs and small RNAs including siRNAs and mRNAs. In addition, the human genome project disclosed that we humans carry as few as approximately 22,000 genes. Humans employ tissue-specific and developmental stage-specific alternative splicing to generate a large variety of proteins in a specific cell at a specific developmental stage. Neurological disorders are not the exceptions that can escape from aberrations of the splicing machinery. A large variety of neurological disorders is causally associated with RNA pathologies, but this lecture was mostly focused on aberrant splicings due to pathological alterations of splicing cis- and trans-elements. The neurological diseases covered include congenital myasthenic syndromes, genetic forms of Parkinson's disease, spastic paraplegia, myotonic dystrophy types 1 and 2, sporadic Alzheimer's disease, facioscapulohumeral dystrophy, fragile X-associated tremor/ ataxia syndrome, Rett syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, spinocerebellar atrophy type 8, and Waardenburg-Shah syndrome. Potential therapeutic modalities targeting RNA are addressed on congenital myasthenic syndromes, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, spinal muscular atrophy, and familial dysautonomia.
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PMID:[RNA pathologies in neurological disorders]. 1821 Aug 2

Melanin protects the skin and eyes from the harmful effects of UV irradiation, protects neural cells from toxic insults, and is required for sound conduction in the inner ear. Aberrant regulation of melanogenesis underlies skin disorders (melasma and vitiligo), neurologic disorders (Parkinson's disease), auditory disorders (Waardenburg's syndrome), and opthalmologic disorders (age related macular degeneration). Much of the core synthetic machinery driving melanin production has been identified; however, the spectrum of gene products participating in melanogenesis in different physiological niches is poorly understood. Functional genomics based on RNA-mediated interference (RNAi) provides the opportunity to derive unbiased comprehensive collections of pharmaceutically tractable single gene targets supporting melanin production. In this study, we have combined a high-throughput, cell-based, one-well/one-gene screening platform with a genome-wide arrayed synthetic library of chemically synthesized, small interfering RNAs to identify novel biological pathways that govern melanin biogenesis in human melanocytes. Ninety-two novel genes that support pigment production were identified with a low false discovery rate. Secondary validation and preliminary mechanistic studies identified a large panel of targets that converge on tyrosinase expression and stability. Small molecule inhibition of a family of gene products in this class was sufficient to impair chronic tyrosinase expression in pigmented melanoma cells and UV-induced tyrosinase expression in primary melanocytes. Isolation of molecular machinery known to support autophagosome biosynthesis from this screen, together with in vitro and in vivo validation, exposed a close functional relationship between melanogenesis and autophagy. In summary, these studies illustrate the power of RNAi-based functional genomics to identify novel genes, pathways, and pharmacologic agents that impact a biological phenotype and operate outside of preconceived mechanistic relationships.
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PMID:Genome-wide siRNA-based functional genomics of pigmentation identifies novel genes and pathways that impact melanogenesis in human cells. 1905 77