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

Five vervet monkeys were administered increasing doses (4--12 mg/kg/day) of d-amphetamine over a period of 35 days. Three phases od behavioural change were discerned: phase 1 during which animals exhibited repetitive stereotyped action sequences with rapid head movements, occasional abnormal grooming, picking at the cage, hand-staring and snatching; phase 2 in which behaviour became progressively more restricted and animals became markedly unresponsive to auditory, visual and tactile stimuli; phase 3 was characterised by the abrupt development of gross over-responsiveness to environmental stimuli, ataxia and tremor. At post-mortem, by comparison with controls, amphetamine-treated monkeys showed marked depletions of the monoamines dopamine (DA), noradrenaline (NA) and serotonin (5-HT) in corpus striatum and cerebral cortex and reductions in the activities of tyrosine hydroxylase and dopa decarboxylase in striatum. Turnover of these monoamines, assessed by high-performance liquid chromatography determinations of their respective metabolites, was also reduced. These findings are interpreted as evidence of monoamine neurone destruction, most severely in the case of DA neurones. Though there was a non-significant reduction in 3H-spiperone binding (reaching almost 50% in nucleus accumbens), numbers of receptors for the monoamines nA and 5-HT were not significantly changed, and the activities of the enzymes choline acetyltransferase and glutamine decarboxylase were similar in experimental and control animals. The contrast of these findings with those seen in post-mortem brains in schizophrenia is discussed.
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PMID:Behavioural and biochemical effects of chronic amphetamine treatment in the vervet monkey. 613 May 56

Scopolamine was either continuously infused or injected once daily into C3H mice. Chronic infusion resulted in mice that were supersensitive to the hypothermia and tremor produced by the muscarinic agonist, oxotremorine. Chronic scopolamine infusion did not alter brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) or choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activities but it did produce an increase in brain muscarinic receptors, as measured by quinuclidinyl benzilate (QNB) binding. The maximal increase in QNB binding was seen at the 0.2 mg/kg/hr dose. Further increase in dose resulted in a return to control QNB binding in all brain regions studied except cortex. These animals were still supersensitive to oxotremorine, suggesting a dissociation between receptor number and response to agonist. Animals injected once daily for 10 days with 5 mg/kg exhibited an increase in QNB binding while no increase was seen at 20 mg/kg/day. Chronic oxotremorine infusion resulted in tolerance to the hypothermia-producing effects of oxotremorine. This was accompanied by a decrease in brain QNB binding. Coinfusion of scopolamine with oxotremorine blocked both the tolerance development and receptor changes. These experiments demonstrate that chronic scopolamine treatment can elicit an increase in brain muscarinic receptors which is accompanied by supersensitivity to agonists. However, this effect is not clearly dose related, and a strict relationship between receptor number and agonist response does not exist.
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PMID:Chronic scopolamine treatment and brain cholinergic function. 673 17

The development of tolerance to cholinergic agonists such as oxotremorine is a well established phenomenon. The hypothesis that such tolerance may be explained by a decrease in the number of affinity of muscarinic receptors was tested by chronically treating C3H mice with oxotremorine. Chronic treatment was achieved by continuously infusing oxotremorine via an indwelling i.v. catheter. Doses ranged from 0.03 to 1.0 mg/kg/hr. Clear tolerance was observed in that symptoms such as salivation, lacrimation and muscle tremor decreased or disappeared during the infusion period. Similarly, chronically treated animals exhibited minimal hypothermia or impairment of rotarod performance when challenged with an oxotremorine dose which significantly depressed both of these measures in naive animals. The activities of the enzymes, acetylcholinesterase and choline acetyltransferase, as well as the binding of [3H]-3-quinuclidinyl benzilate in seven brain regions, were assessed. Chronic oxotremorine treatment failed to alter acetyltransferase activity in any of the brain regions. Choline acetyltransferase activity was only marginally decreased in several brain regions. A significant decrease in maximal [3H]-3-quinudidinyl binding was observed in six of the regions examined. No alteration in [3H]-3-quinuclidinyl affinity was detected. Tolerance to oxotremorine was detected at doses which failed to alter choline acetyltransferase activity or receptor number. These data support the observations of others who noted that chronic muscarinic stimulation results in a decrease in muscarinic receptors, but suggest the importance of mechanisms other than decreased receptor number in early stages of tolerance development.
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PMID:Cholinergic adaptations to chronic oxotremorine infusion. 725 34

We measured the concentrations of the monoamines, their precursors, and their metabolites, and the activity of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) in basal ganglia and cortical regions of postmortem brains from cases with histologically verified pure Alzheimer's disease (AD), AD with diffusely distributed Lewy bodies (Lewy body variant [LBV]), and normal controls. Dopamine and homovanillic acid (HVA) were severely depleted in basal ganglia of the LBV cases but were not significantly altered in pure AD cases; tyrosine hydroxylase levels in putamen were also significantly reduced in LBV but not AD cases. These reductions in basal ganglia dopamine and HVA suggest that LBV cases have a level of dopamine depletion similar to Parkinson's disease (PD). Additionally, ChAT activity in caudate and norepinephrine concentration in putamen were significantly reduced in the LBV group, which may have contributed to the absence of resting tremor and the milder presentation of parkinsonian features in this group compared with classic PD. In frontal, parietal, and temporal cortex, activity of ChAT in the LBV group was significantly reduced compared with controls and lower than in pure AD.
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PMID:Neurotransmitters in basal ganglia and cortex of Alzheimer's disease with and without Lewy bodies. 810 20

The wobbler mouse mutation, an autosomal recessive mutation, leads to motoneuron degeneration in early post-natal development. Transgenic mice in which neurons overexpress human bcl2 transgene have been generated: the overexpression of bcl2 reduces the neuron loss during naturally occurring and experimentally-induced cell deaths. In the present study, we generate mice co-expressing the wobbler mutant gene and the bcl2 transgene in order to determine the effects of Bcl2 overexpression on the neurodegenerative disorders of the wobbler mouse. The clinical signs of the disease (weakness, tremor, small size) as well as biochemical and histological parameters (choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity in muscles, gliosis in spinal cord) are similar in bcl2 positive and negative wobbler mice. These results point to the fact that the neuron-specific expression of the human bcl2 transgene does not correct the effects of the wobbler mutation.
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PMID:The motoneuron degeneration in the wobbler mouse is independent of the overexpression of a Bcl2 transgene in neurons. 857 88

ApolipoproteinE (ApoE) genotype has recently been identified as a major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD) but the mechanism(s) by which ApoE isoforms influence this disease remain unclear. Recent studies suggest that mice deficient in ApoE may exhibit impaired central cholinergic function. Since this neurotransmitter system has traditionally been associated with the pathogenesis of AD, we have further investigated the impact of ApoE gene deletion on this system. Female ApoE knockout (ko) mice, age 12 months, were compared with wild type littermate controls using a range of behavioural, biochemical and histochemical techniques. Pre-treatment with the cholinomimetic, donepezil (E2020; 2.5-5 mg kg-1 IP), produced significant hypothermia and induction of tremor in both wild type and ApoE ko mice. The magnitude of change did not significantly differ between the groups. Cognitive testing in the Morris water maze revealed that both wild type and ApoE ko mice could learn the location of a hidden escape platform with similar rates of acquisition and accuracy. Similarly, the behaviour of both genotypes proved indistinguishable in a Y-maze spontaneous alteration procedure. The protocols used for both cognitive tests were then shown to be sensitive to the disruptive effects of scopolamine (but not scopolamine methyl bromide). Following behavioural testing, choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity was measured in the hippocampus, frontal and entorhinal cortex and striatum. In each case there was no difference between the genotypes. In addition, coronal sections of striatum and anterior hippocampal regions of ApoE ko and wild type mice showed similar patterns of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) staining, with no qualitative or obvious quantitative difference. Finally, analysis of plasma cholesterol levels confirmed ApoE genotype. In conclusion, using a combination of behavioural, histochemical and biochemical measurements, we have failed to detect any significant differences in central cholinergic activity between wild type and ApoE ko mice.
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PMID:Absence of central cholinergic deficits in ApoE knockout mice. 926 10

Tacrine is a potent and reversible inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in the brain. It produces tremor in animals, which is believed to be due to an increase in the brain acetylcholine level following AChE inhibition. The present study was undertaken to investigate the involvement, if any, of biogenic amines in the genesis of this motor dysfunction. Administration of tacrine (10-20 mg/kg, i.p.) produced dose- and time-dependent tremor in Balb/c mice. While in vivo inhibition of striatal AChE activity was observed only for the highest dose of tacrine, a dose-dependent increase in striatal choline acetyltransferase activity was obtained. Serotonin (5-HT) levels, as assayed following a sensitive HPLC-electrochemical procedure, were significantly increased in nucleus caudatus putamen, nucleus accumbens, substantia nigra, nucleus raphe dorsalis, olivary nucleus and the cerebellum. However, dopamine or norepinephrine levels remained unaltered in these areas of the brain. In animals treated with p-chlorophenylalanine, a specific tryptophan hydroxylase inhibitor and 5-HT depletor, tacrine failed to elevate the levels of 5-HT in the brain regions, and significantly attenuated tremor response to the drug. Tacrine-induced tremor was also significantly (83%) attenuated by 5-HT(2A/2C) receptor antagonist mianserin (5 mg/kg, i.p.), but methysergide (5 mg/kg, i.v.) could block tacrine-induced tremor only by 20%. Atropine (5 mg/kg, i.p.) antagonized tacrine-induced tremor by about 53%, but a combination of atropine and mianserin completely blocked the tremor response. These results indicate that the cholinergic tremor produced by tacrine in Balb/c mice is mediated via central serotonergic mechanisms, and stimulation of 5-HT(2A/2C) receptors plays a pivotal role in this motor dysfunction.
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PMID:Evidence for the involvement of central serotonergic mechanisms in cholinergic tremor induced by tacrine in Balb/c mice. 1599 Jan 78

The largest central synapse in adult Drosophila is a mixed electro-chemical synapse whose gap junctions require the product of the shaking-B (shak-B) gene. Shak-B(2) mutant flies lack gap junctions at this synapse, which is between the giant fibre (GF) and the tergotrochanteral motor neuron (TTMn), but it still exhibits a long latency response upon GF stimulation. We have targeted the expression of the light chain of tetanus toxin to the GF, to block chemical transmission, in shak-B(2) flies. The long latency response in the tergotrochanteral muscle (TTM) was abolished indicating that the chemical component of the synapse mediates this response. Attenuation of GAL4-mediated labelling by a cha-GAL80 transgene, reveals the GF to be cholinergic. We have used a temperature-sensitive allele of the choline acetyltransferase gene (cha(ts2)) to block cholinergic synapses in adult flies and this also abolished the long latency response in shak-B(2) flies. Taken together the data provide evidence that both components of this mixed synapse are functional and that the chemical neurotransmitter between the GF and the TTMn is acetylcholine. Our findings show that the two components of this synapse can be separated to allow further studies into the mechanisms by which mixed synapses are built and function.
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PMID:The chemical component of the mixed GF-TTMn synapse in Drosophila melanogaster uses acetylcholine as its neurotransmitter. 1765 Jan 16

Recent studies suggest that high-affinity neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) containing alpha4 and beta2 subunits (alpha4beta2*) functionally interact with G-protein-coupled dopamine (DA) D(2) receptors in basal ganglia. We hypothesized that if a functional interaction between these receptors exists, then mice expressing an M2 point mutation (Leu9'Ala) rendering alpha4 nAChRs hypersensitive to ACh may exhibit altered sensitivity to a D(2)-receptor agonist. When challenged with the D(2)R agonist, quinpirole (0.5-10 mg/kg), Leu9'Ala mice, but not wild-type (WT) littermates, developed severe, reversible motor impairment characterized by rigidity, catalepsy, akinesia, and tremor. While striatal DA tissue content, baseline release, and quinpirole-induced DA depletion did not differ between Leu9'Ala and WT mice, quinpirole dramatically increased activity of cholinergic striatal interneurons only in mutant animals, as measured by increased c-Fos expression in choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-positive interneurons. Highlighting the importance of the cholinergic system in this mouse model, inhibiting the effects of ACh by blocking muscarinic receptors, or by selectively activating hypersensitive nAChRs with nicotine, rescued motor symptoms. This novel mouse model mimics the imbalance between striatal DA/ACh function associated with severe motor impairment in disorders such as Parkinson's disease, and the data suggest that a D(2)R-alpha4*-nAChR functional interaction regulates cholinergic interneuron activity.
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PMID:Dopamine D2-receptor activation elicits akinesia, rigidity, catalepsy, and tremor in mice expressing hypersensitive {alpha}4 nicotinic receptors via a cholinergic-dependent mechanism. 1972 Jun 21