Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0036341 (schizophrenia)
 60,220 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The Ras family GTPases (Ras, Rap1, and Rap2) and their downstream mitogen-activated protein kinases (ERK, JNK, and p38MAPK) and PI3K signaling cascades control various physiological processes. In neuronal cells, recent studies have shown that these parallel cascades signal distinct forms of AMPA-sensitive glutamate receptor trafficking during experience-dependent synaptic plasticity and adaptive behavior. Interestingly, both hypo- and hyperactivation of Ras/ Rap signaling impair the capacity of synaptic plasticity, underscoring the importance of a "happy-medium" dynamic regulation of the signaling. Moreover, accumulating reports have linked various genetic defects that either up- or down-regulate Ras/Rap signaling with several mental disorders associated with learning disability (e.g., Alzheimer's disease, Angelman syndrome, autism, cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome, Coffin-Lowry syndrome, Costello syndrome, Cowden and Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndromes, fragile X syndrome, neurofibromatosis type 1, Noonan syndrome, schizophrenia, tuberous sclerosis, and X-linked mental retardation), highlighting the necessity of happy-medium dynamic regulation of Ras/Rap signaling in learning behavior. Thus, the recent advances in understanding of neuronal Ras/Rap signaling provide a useful guide for developing novel treatments for mental diseases.
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PMID:Ras and Rap signaling in synaptic plasticity and mental disorders. 2043 Oct 46

Advanced paternal age has been associated with an increased risk for spontaneous congenital disorders and common complex diseases (such as some cancers, schizophrenia, and autism), but the mechanisms that mediate this effect have been poorly understood. A small group of disorders, including Apert syndrome (caused by FGFR2 mutations), achondroplasia, and thanatophoric dysplasia (FGFR3), and Costello syndrome (HRAS), which we collectively term "paternal age effect" (PAE) disorders, provides a good model to study the biological and molecular basis of this phenomenon. Recent evidence from direct quantification of PAE mutations in sperm and testes suggests that the common factor in the paternal age effect lies in the dysregulation of spermatogonial cell behavior, an effect mediated molecularly through the growth factor receptor-RAS signal transduction pathway. The data show that PAE mutations, although arising rarely, are positively selected and expand clonally in normal testes through a process akin to oncogenesis. This clonal expansion, which is likely to take place in the testes of all men, leads to the relative enrichment of mutant sperm over time-explaining the observed paternal age effect associated with these disorders-and in rare cases to the formation of testicular tumors. As regulation of RAS and other mediators of cellular proliferation and survival is important in many different biological contexts, for example during tumorigenesis, organ homeostasis and neurogenesis, the consequences of selfish mutations that hijack this process within the testis are likely to extend far beyond congenital skeletal disorders to include complex diseases, such as neurocognitive disorders and cancer predisposition.
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PMID:Paternal age effect mutations and selfish spermatogonial selection: causes and consequences for human disease. 2232 59

The brain extracellular matrix (ECM) is involved in several aspects of neuronal development, plasticity, and pathophysiology. Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs), consisting of core proteins with covalently attached chondroitin sulfate (CS) chains, are essential components of the brain ECM. During late postnatal development, CSPGs condense around parvalbumin-expressing inhibitory neurons (PV-cells) and form lattice-like ECM structures called perineuronal nets (PNNs). Enzymatic or genetic manipulation of PNNs reactivates neuronal plasticity in the adult brain, probably by resetting the excitatory/inhibitory balance in neural networks. Recent studies have indicated that PNNs control PV-cell function by enhancing the accumulation of specific proteins at the cell surface and/or acting as neuroprotective shields against oxidative stress. Since dysfunction of PV-cells and remodeling of CSPGs are commonly observed in several disorders, including schizophrenia, Costello syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, and epilepsy, modulation of PV-cell function by CSPGs may provide a novel strategy for these neuronal disorders. Here we review the potential roles of CSPGs as therapeutic targets for neuronal disorders, with particular focus on structural changes of CS chains under pathological conditions.
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PMID:Chondroitin sulfate and neuronal disorders. 2710 May 10