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)

The past few years, mutations in 5 genes (a-synuclein, parkin, DJ-1, PINK1, and LRRK2) have been firmly implicated, and additional chromosomal loci have been mapped for inherited forms of Parkinson's disease (PD). These discoveries have profound implications for both the scientific and clinical communities. First, although some of the Mendelian forms of PD are very rare (including those caused by alfa-synuclein, DJ-1, and PINK1 mutations) they are facilitating greatly the dissection of the molecular pathways that lead to death of dopaminergic neurons; these pathways might also be implicated in the pathogenesis of the common forms of PD. Second, the discoveries of Mendelian forms are challenging the concept of PD as one disease, as well as the validity of the current clinico-pathological disease definition. Last, mutations in 2 of these genes turned out to be frequent enough to have relevance in clinical practice: parkin mutations are common in early-onset familial and sporadic PD; moreover, emerging data delineate mutations in the LRRK2 gene (encoding the dardarin protein) as a frequent cause of the familial late onset PD forms, and even of few late-onset sporadic cases. The importance of genetic testing is expected to increase in the near future in the PD field. Here, the author provides a brief update on the genetics of the monogenic forms of PD.
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PMID:Genetics of Parkinson's disease. 1617 60

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative illness associated with a selective loss of dopaminergic neurons in the nigrostriatal pathway of the brain. Despite the overall rarity of the familial forms of PD, the identification of single genes linked to the disease has yielded crucial insights into possible mechanisms of neurodegeneration. Recently, a putative mitochondrial kinase, PINK1, has been found mutated in an inherited form of parkinsonism. Here, we describe that PINK1 mutations confer different autophosphorylation activity, which is regulated by the C-terminal portion of the protein. We also demonstrate the mitochondrial localization of both wild-type and mutant PINK1 proteins unequivocally and prove that a short N-terminal part of PINK1 is sufficient for its mitochondrial targeting.
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PMID:Mitochondrial import and enzymatic activity of PINK1 mutants associated to recessive parkinsonism. 1620 31

Mutations in the PINK1 gene have been shown to cause autosomal recessive Parkinson's disease (PD) and/or early onset sporadic PD in Italy, Spain, North America, Ireland, and Asia. However, there are limited data on PINK1 mutations in sporadic early onset Asian PD patients. To determine the prevalence of PINK1 mutation in Taiwanese population, we conducted genetic analysis of PINK1 mutation in 73 early onset sporadic PD and 94 normal control subjects. We only identified a novel single heterozygous mutation R 407Q mutation in exon 6 of this gene in one patient at the age onset of 54. Overall, these data indicate that PINK1 mutations are rare in our population. Based on our results, unless common mutational hotspots are identified, routine testing for this mutation at least in our population may not be cost-effective.
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PMID:Analysis of the PINK1 gene in a cohort of patients with sporadic early-onset parkinsonism in Taiwan. 1625 23

Parkinson's disease is a frequent disorder caused primarily by the loss of dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra. Mutations in the PTEN-induced kinase (PINK1) gene, in addition to those in parkin and DJ-1, have been found in families with recessive early-onset Parkinson's disease. We screened for parkin and PINK1 mutations in a panel of 177 autosomal recessive Parkinson's disease families with ages at onset < or =60 years, mostly from Europe. In 7 unrelated families, we identified 10 pathogenic PINK1 mutations (5 missense, 2 nonsense and 3 frameshift deletion mutations), 8 of which were novel. All the mutations were in the homozygous or compound heterozygous states. Interestingly, pseudo-dominant inheritance was observed in a family with two different mutations. The clinical characteristics of 12 PINK1 patients and 114 parkin patients were similar, even for signs such as dystonia at onset and increased reflexes, which were thought to be specific to parkin. In contrast, onset in patients with PINK1 mutations was earlier and increased reflexes were found more frequently than in patients without PINK1 or parkin mutations. These results suggest that PINK1 is the second most frequent causative gene in early-onset Parkinson's disease with a slowly progressive phenotype, indistinguishable from early-onset patients with parkin mutations.
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PMID:Mutational analysis of the PINK1 gene in early-onset parkinsonism in Europe and North Africa. 1640 16

Pathogenic PINK1 mutations have been described in PARK6-linked Parkinson's disease (PD) patients of Asian origin. However, data on the frequency of PINK1 mutations in sporadic early-onset Parkinson's disease (EOPD) Asian patients are lacking. The objectives of this study were to report the frequency of PINK1 mutations of sporadic EOPD in an Asian cohort comprising of ethnic Chinese, Malays, and Indians, and to highlight a PINK1-positive patient who presented with restless legs symptoms. Eighty consecutive sporadic EOPD patients from the movement disorder clinics of two major tertiary institutions in the country were included. We performed sequence analysis of all the coding and exon-intron junctions of the PINK1 using specific primer sets. In addition, we genotyped polymorphisms detected from the analysis in a group of sporadic PD patients and controls. Three different mutations (two homozygous nonsense and one heterozygous missense) in the putative kinase domain were found in three patients, giving a 3.7% frequency of PINK1 mutations in our EOPD cohort. All the mutations were absent in 200 healthy controls. One patient with a novel homozygous nonsense PINK1 mutation presented unusually with restless legs symptoms. Separately, analysis of the frequency of four PINK1 polymorphisms in a group of sporadic PD and controls did not reveal any significant differences. We highlight a 3.7% frequency of PINK1 mutations in an Asian cohort (ethnic Chinese, Malay, and Indian) of EOPD. The phenotypic spectrum associated with PINK1-positive patients may be wider than previously reported. Polymorphisms of PINK1 do not appear to modulate risk of PD in our population.
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PMID:PINK1 mutations in sporadic early-onset Parkinson's disease. 1648 71

The quest to disentangle the aetiopathogenesis of Parkinson's disease has been heavily influenced by the genes associated with the disease. The alpha-synuclein-centric theory of protein aggregation with the adjunct of parkin-driven proteasome deregulation has, in recent years, been complemented by the discovery and increasing knowledge of the functions of DJ1, PINK1 and OMI/HTRA2, which are all associated with the mitochondria and have been implicated in cellular protection against oxidative damage. We critically review how these genes fit into and enhance our understanding of the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in Parkinson's disease, and consider how oxidative stress might be a potential unifying factor in the aetiopathogenesis of the disease.
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PMID:Expanding insights of mitochondrial dysfunction in Parkinson's disease. 1649 42

The identification of several monogenic forms has established Parkinson disease (PD) as a movement disorder with a considerable genetic origin in at least a subset of patients. Four of the known forms, Parkin-, PINK1 (PTEN-induced putative kinase 1)-, DJ1-, and LRRK2 (leucine-rich repeat kinase 2)-linked PD, may present clinically as "idiopathic PD" and account for at least 1% of all cases of PD. However, all known monogenic forms combined explain about only 20% of early-onset PD and less than 3% of late-onset PD at best. Although the individual clinical course cannot be predicted, overall, many cases of genetic PD will progress more slowly and respond better to treatment than patients without mutations. Genetic testing frequently yields inconclusive results, is expensive, and should be used for diagnostic purposes only after careful consideration in selected cases at specialty centers. While genetic findings have greatly advanced our understanding of the pathophysiology of PD, we are faced with many novel challenges. These include the definition of the phenotypic and genotypic spectrum of the monogenic forms, a revised terminology and classification of parkinsonian syndromes, identification of genetic susceptibility factors, and development of guidelines for genetic testing and of new treatment options for PD.
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PMID:Implications of genetics on the diagnosis and care of patients with Parkinson disease. 1653 59

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease caused by loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. Although the etiology of PD remains unclear, it is now clear that genetic factors contribute to the pathogenesis of the disease. Recently, several causative genes have been identified in monogenic forms of PD. Accumulating evidence indicates that their gene products play important roles in mitochondrial function, oxidative stress response, and the ubiquitin-proteasome system, which are also implicated in sporadic PD, suggesting that these gene products share a common pathway to nigral degeneration in both familial and sporadic PD. Here, we review recent advances in knowledge about genes associated with recessive PD, including parkin, PINK1, and DJ-1.
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PMID:Recessive Parkinson's disease. 1661 60

Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder and is characterized by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated as an important trigger for Parkinson's disease-like pathogenesis because exposure to environmental mitochondrial toxins leads to Parkinson's disease-like pathology. Recently, multiple genes mediating familial forms of Parkinson's disease have been identified, including PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1; PARK6) and parkin (PARK2), which are also associated with sporadic forms of Parkinson's disease. PINK1 encodes a putative serine/threonine kinase with a mitochondrial targeting sequence. So far, no in vivo studies have been reported for pink1 in any model system. Here we show that removal of Drosophila PINK1 homologue (CG4523; hereafter called pink1) function results in male sterility, apoptotic muscle degeneration, defects in mitochondrial morphology and increased sensitivity to multiple stresses including oxidative stress. Pink1 localizes to mitochondria, and mitochondrial cristae are fragmented in pink1 mutants. Expression of human PINK1 in the Drosophila testes restores male fertility and normal mitochondrial morphology in a portion of pink1 mutants, demonstrating functional conservation between human and Drosophila Pink1. Loss of Drosophila parkin shows phenotypes similar to loss of pink1 function. Notably, overexpression of parkin rescues the male sterility and mitochondrial morphology defects of pink1 mutants, whereas double mutants removing both pink1 and parkin function show muscle phenotypes identical to those observed in either mutant alone. These observations suggest that pink1 and parkin function, at least in part, in the same pathway, with pink1 functioning upstream of parkin. The role of the pink1-parkin pathway in regulating mitochondrial function underscores the importance of mitochondrial dysfunction as a central mechanism of Parkinson's disease pathogenesis.
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PMID:Drosophila pink1 is required for mitochondrial function and interacts genetically with parkin. 1681 Feb 37

We analyzed the PINK1 gene in 58 patients with early-onset Parkinsonism and detected the homozygous mutation W437X in 1 patient. The clinical phenotype was characterized by early onset (22 years of age), good response to levodopa, early fluctuations and dyskinesias, and psychiatric symptoms. The mother, heterozygote for W437X mutation, was affected by Parkinson's disease and 3 further relatives were reported affected, according to an autosomal dominant transmission.
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PMID:PINK1 homozygous W437X mutation in a patient with apparent dominant transmission of parkinsonism. 1670 27


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