Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0040822 (tremor)
 18,428 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most common progressive neurodegenerative disorders, characterized by resting tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia, and postural instability. These symptoms are associated with massive loss of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons in the substantia nigra (SN) causing an estimated 70-80% depletion of dopamine (DA) in the striatum, where their projections are located. Although the etiology of PD is unknown, mitochondrial dysfunctions have been associated with the disease pathophysiology. We used a mouse model expressing a mitochondria-targeted restriction enzyme, PstI or mito-PstI, to damage mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in dopaminergic neurons. The expression of mito-PstI induces double-strand breaks in the mtDNA, leading to an oxidative phosphorylation deficiency, mostly due to mtDNA depletion. Taking advantage of a dopamine transporter (DAT) promoter-driven tetracycline transactivator protein (tTA), we expressed mito-PstI exclusively in dopaminergic neurons, creating a novel PD transgenic mouse model (PD-mito-PstI mouse). These mice recapitulate most of the major features of PD: they have a motor phenotype that is reversible with l-DOPA treatment, a progressive neurodegeneration of the SN dopaminergic population, and striatal DA depletion. Our results also showed that behavioral phenotypes in PD-mito-PstI mice were associated with striatal dysfunctions preceding SN loss of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons and that other neurotransmitter systems [noradrenaline (NE) and serotonin (5-HT)] were increased after the disruption of DA neurons, potentially as a compensatory mechanism. This transgenic mouse model provides a novel model to study the role of mitochondrial defects in the axonal projections of the striatum in the pathophysiology of PD.
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PMID:Striatal dysfunctions associated with mitochondrial DNA damage in dopaminergic neurons in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease. 2213 25

Loss of the RNA-binding fragile X protein [fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP)] results in a spectrum of cognitive deficits, the fragile X syndrome (FXS), while aging individuals with decreased protein levels present with a subset of these symptoms and tremor. The broad range of behavioral deficits likely reflects the ubiquitous distribution and multiple functions of the protein. FMRP loss is expected to affect multiple neuronal proteins and intracellular signaling pathways, whose identity and interactions are essential in understanding and ameliorating FXS symptoms. We used heterozygous mutants and targeted RNA interference-mediated abrogation in Drosophila to uncover molecular pathways affected by FMRP reduction. We present evidence that FMRP loss results in excess metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) activity, attributable at least in part to elevation of the protein in affected neurons. Using high-resolution behavioral, genetic, and biochemical analyses, we present evidence that excess mGluR upon FMRP attenuation is linked to the cAMP decrement reported in patients and models, and underlies olfactory associative learning and memory deficits. Furthermore, our data indicate positive transcriptional regulation of the fly fmr1 gene by cAMP, via protein kinase A, likely through the transcription factor CREB. Because the human Fmr1 gene also contains CREB binding sites, the interaction of mGluR excess and cAMP signaling defects we present suggests novel combinatorial pharmaceutical approaches to symptom amelioration upon FMRP attenuation.
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PMID:Learning and memory deficits consequent to reduction of the fragile X mental retardation protein result from metabotropic glutamate receptor-mediated inhibition of cAMP signaling in Drosophila. 2299 28

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia, and gait impairment. In a previous study, we found that the marine-derived compound 11-dehydrosinulariolide (11-de) upregulates the Akt/PI3K pathway to protect cells against 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-mediated damage. In the present study, SH-SY5Y, zebrafish and rats were used to examine the therapeutic effect of 11-de. The results revealed the mechanism by which 11-de exerts its therapeutic effect: the compound increases cytosolic or mitochondrial DJ-1 expression, and then activates the downstream Akt/PI3K, p-CREB, and Nrf2/HO-1 pathways. Additionally, we found that 11-de could reverse the 6-OHDA-induced downregulation of total swimming distance in a zebrafish model of PD. Using a rat model of PD, we showed that a 6-OHDA-induced increase in the number of turns, and increased time spent by rats on the beam, could be reversed by 11-de treatment. Lastly, we showed that 6-OHDA-induced attenuation in tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), a dopaminergic neuronal marker, in zebrafish and rat models of PD could also be reversed by treatment with 11-de. Moreover, the patterns of DJ-1 expression observed in this study in the zebrafish and rat models of PD corroborated the trend noted in previous in vitro studies.
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PMID:Neuroprotective Effect of the Marine-Derived Compound 11-Dehydrosinulariolide through DJ-1-Related Pathway in In Vitro and In Vivo Models of Parkinson's Disease. 2776 4