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)

An early and highly specific decrease in glutathione (GSH) in the substantia nigra is associated with Parkinson's disease, and low levels of GSH lead to the degeneration of cultured dopaminergic neurons. Using immature cortical neurons and a clonal nerve cell line, it is shown that a decrease in GSH triggers the activation of neuronal 12-lipoxygenase (12-LOX), which leads to the production of peroxides, the influx of Ca2+, and ultimately to cell death. The supporting evidence includes: 1) inhibitors of arachidonate metabolism and 12-LOX block cell death induced by GSH depletion; 2) there is an increase in 12-LOX activity and a membrane translocation in HT22 cells, and an induction of the enzyme in primary cortical neurons following the reduction of GSH; 3) 12-LOX is directly inhibited by GSH; and 4) exogenous arachidonic acid potentiates cell death. These data show that the LOX pathway is a critical intermediate in at least some forms of neuronal degeneration.
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PMID:A role for 12-lipoxygenase in nerve cell death caused by glutathione depletion. 929 33

Neuronal damage in certain cellular populations in the brain has been linked to oxidative stress accompanied by an elevation in intracellular calcium. Many questions remain about how such oxidative stress occurs and how it affects calcium homeostasis. Glutathione (GSH) is a major regulator of cellular redox status in the brain, and lowered GSH levels have been associated with dopaminergic cell loss in Parkinson's disease (PD). We found that transfection of antisense oligomers directed against glutamylcysteine synthetase (GCS), the rate-limiting enzyme in GSH synthesis, into PC12 cells resulted in decreased GSH and increased levels of ROS. Decreased GSH levels also correlated with an increase in intracellular calcium levels. Data from this study suggest that dopaminergic neurons are very sensitive to decreases in the internal oxidant buffering capacity of the cell caused by reductions in GSH levels, and that alterations in this parameter can result in disruption of calcium homeostasis and cell death. These results may be of particular significance for therapeutic treatment of PD, as those dopaminergic neurons that are spared in this disorder appear to contain the calcium binding protein, calbindin.
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PMID:Decreased glutathione results in calcium-mediated cell death in PC12. 935 49

In this study a chronic cerebral iron-loaded model was established by feeding mice with high iron diet. Data indicated that brain iron concentrations were significantly increased in iron-fed mice compared with those of controls. A significant increase in oxidized glutathione (GSSG), decrease in total glutathione (oxidized and reduced glutathione, GSSG + GSH), and therefore increase in the GSSG/(GSSG + GSH) ratios were observed in iron-loaded mice. Hydroxyl radical (.OH) levels in striatum and brainstem were also significantly increased. Excessive iron alone did not change either dopamine (DA) or lipid peroxidation (LPO) concentrations in striatum. However, a single injection of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP, 30 mg/kg, i.p.) into the iron-loaded mice caused a great enhancement in all these biochemical abnormalities. These findings suggest that iron does induce oxidative stress, but not severely injury neurons per sc. Excessive iron accumulation in the brain, however, is a potential risk for neuronal damage, which may promote by triggering factor(s). This supports the hypothesis that excessive cerebral iron may contribute to the aetiology of Parkinson's disease (PD).
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PMID:Excessive iron accumulation in the brain: a possible potential risk of neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease. 944 65

Oxidative stress is thought to play an important role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Glutathione (GSH), a major cellular antioxidant, is decreased in the substantia nigra pars compacta of PD patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether deprenyl and its desmethyl metabolite, putative neuroprotective agents in the treatment of PD, could protect cultured rat mesencephalic neurons from cell death caused by GSH depletion due to treatment with L-buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine (BSO). BSO (10 microM) caused extensive cell death after 48 hr, as demonstrated by disruption of cellular integrity and release of lactate dehydrogenase into the culture medium. Both deprenyl and desmethylselegiline, at concentrations of 5 and 50 microM, significantly protected dopaminergic neurons from toxicity without preventing the BSO-induced loss in GSH. Protection was not associated with monoamine oxidase type B inhibition in that pargyline, a potent MAO inhibitor, was ineffective and pretreatment with pargyline did not prevent the protective effects of deprenyl. Protection was not associated with inhibition of dopamine uptake by deprenyl because the dopamine uptake inhibitor mazindol did not diminish BSO toxicity. The antioxidant ascorbic acid (200 microM) also protected against BSO-induced cell death, suggesting that oxidative events were involved. This study demonstrates that deprenyl and its desmethyl metabolite can diminish cell death associated with GSH depletion.
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PMID:Deprenyl and desmethylselegiline protect mesencephalic neurons from toxicity induced by glutathione depletion. 945 17

Oxidative stress has been implicated in both normal aging and in various neurodegenerative disorders and may be a common mechanism underlying various forms of cell death including necrosis, apoptosis, and excitotoxicity. In this review, we develop the hypothesis that oxidative stress-mediated neuronal loss may be initiated by a decline in the antioxidant molecule glutathione (GSH). GSH plays multiple roles in the nervous system including free radical scavenger, redox modulator of ionotropic receptor activity, and possible neurotransmitter. GSH depletion can enhance oxidative stress and may also increase the levels of excitotoxic molecules; both types of action can initiate cell death in distinct neuronal populations. Evidence for a role of oxidative stress and diminished GSH status is presented for Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS), Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease. Potential links to the Guamanian variant of these diseases (ALS-PD complex) are discussed. In context to the above, we provide a GSH-depletion model of neurodegenerative disorders, suggest experimental verifications of this model, and propose potential therapeutic approaches for preventing or halting these diseases.
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PMID:Neurodegenerative disorders in humans: the role of glutathione in oxidative stress-mediated neuronal death. 949 62

Oxidative stress may contribute to nigral cell death in Parkinson's disease based on postmortem investigations showing increased iron levels, decreased levels of reduced glutathione (GSH), and impaired mitochondrial function. This leads to oxidative damage because lipid peroxidation is increased in substantia nigra and there is a widespread increase in protein and DNA oxidation in the brain in Parkinson's disease. Nitric oxide (NO) may be one of the free radical species involved in nigral degeneration. NO is involved in the production of hydroxyl radicals resulting from MPP+-induced dopamine efflux in striatum. Mice treated with the neuronal nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor 7-nitroindazole show reduced toxicity to MPTP and knock-out mice lacking neuronal NOS show decreased MPTP susceptibility. In primates, 7-nitroindazole inhibits MPTP toxicity but this remains controversial because no protection is afforded by the nonspecific NOS inhibitor, L-NAME. Indeed, in Parkinson's disease itself, there is little evidence for nitric oxide's involvement in nigral pathology. A susceptibility factor for the development of Parkinson's disease may involve isoforms of cytochrome P450, some of which are found in the brain. CYP2EI, which is associated with free radical production and the formation of endogenous toxins, is selectively localized in nigral dopamine-containing cells. CYP2E1 metabolizes n-hexane leading to the formation of its neurotoxic metabolite 2,5-hexanedione which may explain cases of solvent-induced parkinsonism. Oxidative processes clearly contribute to the pathology of Parkinson's disease but are probably secondary to some other primary unidentified cause, presumably genetic or environmental. Nevertheless, their involvement may allow therapeutic intervention in the cascade of events associated with the progression of Parkinson's disease.
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PMID:Oxidative mechanisms in nigral cell death in Parkinson's disease. 961 15

Oxidative stress is implicated in several pathologies such as AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease, as well as in normal aging. As a model system to study the response of cells to oxidative insults, glutamate toxicity on a mouse nerve cell line, HT-22, was examined. Glutamate exposure kills HT-22 via a nonreceptor-mediated oxidative pathway by blocking cystine uptake and causing depletion of intracellular glutathione (GSH), leading to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species and, ultimately, apoptotic cell death. Several HT-22 subclones that are 10-fold resistant to exogenous glutamate were isolated and the mechanisms involved in resistance characterized. The expression levels of neither heat shock proteins nor apoptosis-related proteins are changed in the resistant cells. In contrast, the antioxidant enzyme catalase, but not glutathione peroxidase nor superoxide dismutase, is more highly expressed in the resistant than in the parental cells. In addition, the resistant cells have enhanced rates of GSH regeneration due to higher activities of the GSH metabolic enzymes gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase and GSH reductase, and GSH S-transferases activities are also elevated. As a consequence of these alterations, the glutamate resistant cells are also more resistant to organic hydroperoxides and anticancer drugs that affect these GSH enzymes. These results indicate that resistance to apoptotic oxidative stress may be acquired by coordinated changes in multiple antioxidant pathways.
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PMID:Cellular mechanisms of resistance to chronic oxidative stress. 964 Dec 55

(E)-4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE) is a toxic end-product of the free radical-stimulated peroxidation of phospholoipid-bound arachidonic acid in cell membranes. There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that free radicals may play an important role in the pathology of Parkinson's disease. HNE is highly electrophilic and is conjugated to reduced glutathione (GSH) by glutathione S-transferase. The depletion of GSH in the substantia nigra of Parkinson's patients and in the brainstem of mice treated with the neurotoxin N-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) prompted this study on the concentrations of HNE in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma of Parkinson's patients and the brainstem of mice treated with MPTP. HNE was identified and quantitated by a highly specific and sensitive method based on the gas chromatography-negative-ion chemical ionisation mass spectrometry of the O-pentafluorobenzyl oxime derivative using 9D3-4-hydroxy-2-nonenal as an internal standard. The mean concentration of HNE in the CSF of patients with Parkinson's disease was 1.47+/-0.76 microM (mean+/-SD, n=10), while the concentration in the CSF of a group of control patients was 0.38+/-0.14 microM (n=10; p < .01). The mean concentration of HNE in the plasma of Parkinson's patients was 0.68+/-0.15 microM (n=20) and the concentration in the control group was 0.47+/-0 12 microM (n=20; p < .05). The mean peak concentration of HNE in the brainstem of mice after a single s.c. dose of MPTP (40 mg/kg) was 3.62+/-0.36 nM/g wet wt. (n=17) at 12 h while the control value was 0.45+/-0.05 nM/g wet wt. (n=20; p < .05). The GSH concentration in the brainstem of MPTP-treated mice at 24 h. was 0.65+/-0.03 microM/g wet wt. (n=14) and the control value was 1.25+/-0.03 microM/g wet wt. (n=20; p < .01). The corresponding concentration of GSH-HNE-conjugate at 24 h was 0.32+/-0.09 microM/g wet wt. (n=12) compared with a control value of 0.05+/-0.02 (n=16; p < .01). After treatment with alpha-tocopherol (2.35 g/kg s.c. daily x 3) the mean concentration of HNE 12 hr. after MPTP injection was 0.89+/-0.06 nM/g wet wt. (n=18). The HNE concentration in a group not treated with alpha-tocopherol prior to MPTP injection was 3.49+/-0.09 nM/g wet wt. (n=14; p < .05). The concentration of GSH in the mice pretreated with alpha-tocopherol before MPTP injection was 1.14+/-0.02 microM/g wet wt. (n=17) at 24 h compared to 0.61+/-0.02 microM/g wet wt. (n=14) in the untreated mice (p < .05). The direct injection of HNE (1, 10, 100, 1,000 microM) into the substantia nigra caused a dose dependent depletion of GSH in the brainstem of mice. The mean concentration of GSH 24 hr after the injection of 100 microM of HNE was 0.43+/-0.22 microM/g wet wt. (n=4) compared with a control value of 1.48+/-0.02 microM/g wet wt. (n=8; p < .05). The corresponding concentration of GSH-HNE-conjugate was 0.32+/-0.12 microM/g wet wt. (n=4) while the control value was 0.04+/-0.02 microM/g wet wt. (n=8). These data suggest that HNE may be a causative neurotoxin in Parkinson's disease and that HNE may also be involved in MPTP toxicity.
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PMID:(E)-4-hydroxy-2-nonenal may be involved in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. 966 92

Russian knapweed is a perennial weed found in many parts of the world, including southern California. Chronic ingestion of this plant by horses has been reported to cause equine nigropallidal encephalomalacia (ENE), which is associated with a movement disorder simulating Parkinson's disease (PD). Repin, a principal ingredient purified from Russian knapweed, is a sesquiterpene lactone containing an alpha-methylenebutyrolactone moiety and epoxides and is a highly reactive electrophile that can readily undergo conjugation with various biological nucleophiles, such as proteins, DNA, and glutathione (GSH). We show in this study that repin is highly toxic to C57BL/6J mice and Sprague-Dawley rats and acutely induces uncoordinated locomotion associated with postural tremors, hypothermia, and inability to respond to sonic and tactile stimuli. We also show that repin intoxication reduces striatal and hippocampal GSH and increases total striatal dopamine (DA) levels in mice. Striatal microdialysis in rats, however, has demonstrated a significant reduction of extracellular DA levels. These findings, coupled with the absence of any demonstrable change in striatal DOPAC levels, suggest that repin acts by inhibiting DA release, a hypothesis that is further supported by our demonstration that, in cultured PC12 cells, repin inhibits the release of DA without affecting its uptake. We believe, therefore, that inhibition of DA release represents one of the earliest pathogenetic events in ENE, leading eventually to striatal extracellular DA denervation, oxidative stress, and degeneration of nigrostriatal pathways. Since the neurotoxic effects of repin appear to be mediated via oxidative stress, and since repin is a natural product isolated from a plant in our environment that can cause a movement disorder associated with degeneration of nigrostriatal pathways, clarification of the mechanism of repin neurotoxicity may provide new insights into our understanding of the pathogenesis of PD.
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PMID:Repin-induced neurotoxicity in rodents. 968 20

Current concepts of the cause of Parkinson's disease (PD) suggest a role for both genetic and environmental influences. Common to a variety of potential causes of nigral cell degeneration in PD is the involvement of oxidative stress. Postmortem analysis shows increased levels of iron, decreased complex I activity, and a decrease in reduced glutathione (GSH) levels. The decrease in GSH levels may be a particularly important component of the cascade of events leading to cell death because it occurs in the presymptomatic stage of PD and may directly induce nigral cell degeneration or render neurons susceptible to the actions of toxins. There is evidence suggesting that oxidative stress might originate in glial cells rather than in neurons, and alterations in glial function may be an important contributor to the pathologic process that occurs in PD. Oxidative damage occurs in the brain in PD, as shown by increased lipid peroxidation and DNA damage in the substantia nigra. Increased protein oxidation is also apparent, but this occurs in many areas of the brain and raises the specter of a more widespread pathologic process occurring in PD to which the substantia nigra is particularly vulnerable. The inability of the substantia nigra to handle damaged or mutant (eg, alpha-synuclein) proteins may lead to their aggregation and deposition and to the formation of Lewy bodies. Indeed, Lewy bodies stain for both alpha-synuclein and nitrated proteins. Current evidence enables us to hypothesize that a failure to process structurally modified proteins in regions of the brain exhibiting oxidative stress is a cause of both familial and sporadic PD.
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PMID:Understanding cell death in Parkinson's disease. 974 77


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