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)

With several notable exceptions, interest in the area of multiple molecular forms of phosphodiesterase remained relatively dormant during the decade following Thompson's discovery of more than one phosphodiesterase in brain in 1971. Within the last several years, however, over 20 novel agents have been identified that exert selective inhibitory effects on the various molecular forms of phosphodiesterase present within different cells. In addition, several studies have documented that such agents can produce discrete changes in cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP, an action that is not shared by "first generation" phosphodiesterase inhibitors such as theophylline. The purpose of this Perspective is to provide some clarity to this rapidly evolving area of selective phosphodiesterase inhibitors. Thus, we have attempted to characterize the different forms of phosphodiesterase present in various tissues and cells according to their kinetic properties, substrate specificity, etc. and also to characterize those major classes of agents that have been shown to inhibit phosphodiesterase activity, whether selectively or nonselectively. In addition, we have described several therapeutic areas wherein selective phosphodiesterase inhibitors might prove efficacious, paying particular attention to those areas in which selective phosphodiesterase inhibitors have already been shown to exert beneficial effects, namely, stimulation of myocardial contractility, inhibition of mediator release, and inhibition of platelet aggregation. Although focusing on these three areas, it is obvious that the potential therapeutic utility of selective phosphodiesterase inhibitors could conceivably extend to several other areas in which modulation of cyclic nucleotides can have desirable effects, including cancer chemotherapy, analgesia, the treatment of depression, Parkinson's disease, and learning and memory disorders. For example, the selective type III phosphodiesterase inhibitor rolipram has been shown to antagonize reserpine-induced hypothermia and also to potentiate yohimbine lethality, two tests that are indicative of antidepressant activity. In addition, microinjection of the selective PDE III inhibitor Ro 20-1724 into the rat brain stem has been shown to produce analgesia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:A new generation of phosphodiesterase inhibitors: multiple molecular forms of phosphodiesterase and the potential for drug selectivity. 298 81

To investigate whether nitric oxide (NO) plays a role in degenerative neurologic disease (DND), we measured nitrite, nitrate and cyclic GMP in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We found no significant change in CSF nitrite, nitrate or cyclic GMP in patients with any DND compared with control values. These results suggest that NO production is preserved in PD, SCA and ALS.
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PMID:Nitrite, nitrate and cGMP in the cerebrospinal fluid in degenerative neurologic diseases. 874 72

Glutathione depletion occurs in several forms of apoptosis and is associated with Parkinson's disease and HIV toxicity. The neurotransmitter glutamate kills immature cortical neurons and a hippocampal nerve cell line via an oxidative pathway associated with glutathione depletion. It is shown here that soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) activity is required for nerve cell death caused by glutathione depletion. Inhibitors of sGC block glutamate toxicity and a cGMP analogue potentiates cell death. Glutamate also induces an elevation of cGMP that occurs late in the cell death pathway. The resultant cGMP modulates the increase in intracellular calcium that precedes cell death because sGC inhibitors prevent calcium elevation and the cGMP analogue potentiates the increase in intracellular calcium. These results suggest that the final pathway of glutamate induced nerve cell death is through a cGMP-modulated calcium channel.
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PMID:Requirement for cGMP in nerve cell death caused by glutathione depletion. 938 76

We measured CSF and plasma levels of cGMP in 22 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and in 28 age and sex-matched controls. PD patients had similar plasma cGMP levels than those of controls, although they showed a non-significant trend towards higher CSF cGMP levels (P=0.07). PD patients treated with levodopa showed significantly higher CSF cGMP levels than those not treated with this drug (P<0.01), and controls (P<0.01). However, treatment with dopamine agonists did not influence CSF cGMP levels. Plasma and CSF levels of cGMP did not correlate with age at onset, duration, and severity of PD. These results suggest that changes in the concentration of cGMP in CSF of patients with PD are not related with the disease, but rather with levodopa therapy.
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PMID:Cerebrospinal fluid cyclic guanosine 3'5' monophosphate levels in Parkinson's disease. 956 29

Mechanisms of the process of neuronal degeneration in neurodegenerative disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease (PD), and Alzheimer's disease (AD) remain unsolved. Oxidative stress might be a possible mechanism of neuronal cell death. Glutamate is an excitatory amino acid and its excessive release can cause intracellular calcium influx, activation of calcium-dependent enzymes such as nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS), and production of toxic oxygen radicals. Excessive release of glutamate, therefore, can be used as a model of experimental oxidative stress. Continuous exposure to low levels of glutamate potentiates selective motor neuronal death mediated by NO, which inversely protects nonmotor neurons through the guanylyl cyclase-cGMP cascade. Mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons are resistant to cytotoxicity induced by NO. The protecting mechanism from NO neurotoxicity in dopaminergic neurons is based on inhibition of conversion of NO to peroxynitrite anion, and is possibly due to suppression of superoxide anion production. Dopamine D 2 agonists provide protection mediated not only by the inhibition of dopamine turnover but also via D 2-type dopamine receptor stimulation and the subsequent synthesis of proteins that scavenge free radicals. In addition, nicotinic receptor stimulation may be able to protect neurons from oxidative stress induced by A beta.
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PMID:[Neuronal cell death in neurodegenerative disorders and oxidative stress]. 1037 84

Glutamate and reactive oxygen species including nitric oxide (NO) and superoxide anion (O2.-) have been postulated to play pivotal roles in the pathogenesis of the neuronal cell loss that is associated with several neurological disease states including Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In mesencephalic cultures, nondopaminergic neurons but not dopaminergic neurons are susceptible to NO cytotoxicity, although both types of neurons are damaged by glutamate. Methylphenylpyridium ion (MPP+) selectively enhances glutamate and NO cytotoxicity against dopaminergic neurons of mesencephalic cultures. It is suggested that glutathione plays an important role in the expression of NO-mediated glutamate cytotoxicity in dopaminergic neurons. In cultured spinal neurons, glutamate coadministered with the glutamate transporter inhibitor selectively damages motor neurons. Motor neurons are injured by NO, whereas nonmotor neurons are protected by NO through the guanylyl cyclase-cGMP cascade. It is suggested that selective motor neuronal death caused by chronic low-level exposure to glutamate is mediated by the formation of NO in nonmotor neurons. It is possible that neurotoxicity induced by NO and O2.- associated with neurodegenerative disorders is regulated by intracellular defense systems such as glutathione and cGMP.
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PMID:[Neuronal response to radical stress]. 1062 40

Attempts to unify diverse mechanisms of neurotoxicity have led to the concept of final common pathways which characterize frequently occurring cellular responses to disruption of homeostasis. The clinical presentation and common patho-biochemistry of reactive oxygen intermediates of Guam's disease have suggested that such pathways may be operative in three major neurodegenerative disorders: Alzheimer's dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. A candidate-signaling pathway in this regard is characterized by the cascade arachidonic acid/HPETE/*OH/cGMP followed by activation of cGMP-dependent kinase and phosphorylation of NF-kB proteins and possibly CREB. This sequence may lead to apoptosis as well as long-term potentiation and memory and constitutes a biochemical correlate to excitotoxicity. The predominant control of *OH release from HPETE, a checkpoint in this pathway, is exerted by the glutathione cycle, a central biochemical process that is also intimately associated with the synthesis of the neurotransmitters glutamate and GABA and is connected to energy metabolism. Modifications in the activity of the glutathione cycle may provide treatment options.
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PMID:Final common pathways in neurodegenerative diseases: regulatory role of the glutathione cycle. 1064 18

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the selective loss of dopamine (DA) neurons in the substantia nigral brain region. Currently, there is no cure or treatment that prevents such neuronal loss. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been found to support the survival of DA neurons in animal models and in primary cell cultures. However, the large molecular size of BDNF, coupled with the blood brain barrier, prevents its delivery to DA neurons to promote cell survival in the PD brain. The nigral DA neurons have the ability to produce BDNF for neuroprotection via either autocrine or paracrine mechanisms. Low mol. wt compounds were tested to see whether they could increase the production of BDNF in the DA neurons. The compounds tested include neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, intracellular signaling agents, known neuroprotective agents and growth factors. Our results demonstrate that salicyclic acid, cGMP analog, okadaic acid, IBMX, dipyridamole and glutamate significantly enhance BDNF production in DA neuronal cells.
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PMID:Identification of potential compounds promoting BDNF production in nigral dopaminergic neurons: clinical implication in Parkinson's disease. 1071 5

Our current understanding of nitric oxide (NO), cyclic GMP (cGMP) and protein kinase G (PKG) signaling pathways in the nervous systems has its origins in the early studies conducted on vascular tissues during the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. The pioneering research into the NO/cGMP/PKG pathway in blood vessels conducted by the laboratories of Drs. Ferid Murad, Louis Ignarro and Robert Furchgott ultimately led to the awarding of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to these three scientists. On the basis of further pioneering studies by Drs. John Garthwaite, Solomon Snyder, Steven Vincent and many other neuroscientists during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, it became recognized that NO serves as a neurotransmitter/neuromodulator in the central and peripheral nervous systems and that certain neural cells possess a cGMP signaling pathway similar to that in vascular smooth muscle cells. Although NO (at high concentrations) is toxic and thought to participate in neuronal cell death during stroke and neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, HIV dementia and Parkinson's disease), recent evidence suggests that NO at low physiological concentrations can act as an antiapoptotic/prosurvival factor in certain neural cells (e.g. PC12 cells, motor neurons and neurons of dorsal root ganglia, hippocampus and sympathetic nerves). The antiapoptotic effects of NO are mediated, in part, by cGMP and a downstream target protein, PKG. Other cGMP-elevating factors (e.g. atrial and brain natriuretic peptides) and direct PKG activator (e.g. 8-bromo-cGMP) also have antiapoptotic effects which have been quantified by the new capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detector technology. Inhibition of soluble guanylyl cyclase and lowering of basal cGMP levels cause apoptosis in unstressed neural cells (NG108-15 and N1E-115 cells). The cGMP/PKG pathway appears to play an essential role in preventing activation of a proapoptotic pathway, thus promoting neural cell survival.
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PMID:Involvement of cyclic GMP and protein kinase G in the regulation of apoptosis and survival in neural cells. 1239 44

The post-synaptic AMPA receptors play an important role in mediating fast excitatory transmission in the mammalian brain. Over-activated AMPA receptors induce excitotoxicity, implicated in a number of Chronic neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and AIDS encephalitis. AMPA receptor antagonists offer protection against neurodegeneration in the experimental models even if they are given 24 h after the injury. Because AMPA receptors seem to be involved in the neurodegenerative diseases, modulating the activity of the AMPA receptors could be an attractive approach to reduce or prevent excitotoxicity. Studies conducted recently have exhibited a number of new mechanisms for AMPA receptor regulation. Modulations of these were found to have protective implications. AMPA receptor depolarization and desensitization are protective to the neurons. Receptor desensitization depends on the receptor subunit composition. The R/G editing site and the flip/flop cassettes in AMPA receptor subunits contribute to a great extent in receptor desensitization and recovery rates. Molecules that could quicken receptor desensitization or delay recovery could be of use. AMPA receptors limit neuronal entry of Ca2+ ions by regulating Ca2+-permeability. Ca2+-permeable receptor channels are made up of GluR1, GluR3, or GluR4 subunits, whereas presence of the GluR2 subunit restricts Ca2+ entry and renders the receptor Ca2+-impermeable. GluR2 levels, however, experience a fall after neuronal insult rendering the AMPA receptors Ca2+-permeable, thus factors that could interfere with this event might prove to be very beneficial against excitotoxicity. AMPA receptor clusters are stabilized by PSD-95, which requires palmitoylation at two sites. Targeting palmitoylation of the PSD-95 can also be a useful approach to disperse AMPA clusters at the synapse. In the perisynaptic region, mGluRs are present a little away from the synapse and are among the glutamate transporters, which require high-frequency firing for activation. On activation they might enhance the activity of NMDA receptors at the synapse to increase the levels of AMPA receptors. AMPA receptors surfaced at this juncture can contribute to heavy Ca2+ influx. Thus, blocking this pathway could be of considerable importance in preventing the excitotoxicity. A number of proteins such as the GRIP, PICK, and NSF also modulate the functions of AMPA receptors. Polyamines also block Ca2+ permeable AMPA receptors and thus are protective. NO and cGMP also play an important role in negatively regulating AMPA receptors and thus could offer protection. Modulation of AMPA receptor by different mechanisms has been discussed in the present review to implicate importance of these targets/pathways for safer and future neuroprotective drugs.
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PMID:AMPA receptor regulation mechanisms: future target for safer neuroprotective drugs. 1520 61


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