Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P10636 (tau protein)
 5,110 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The alteration of certain neuropeptide levels is a dramatic and consistent finding in the brains of AD patients. Levels of SS, which is normally present in high concentrations in cerebral cortex /75/, are consistently decreased in the neocortex, hippocampus and CSF of AD patients. In addition, decreased levels of SS correlate regionally with the distribution of neurofibrillary tangles in AD /47/. Most available evidence suggests that the subset of SS-containing neurons which lack NADPH diaphorase may be relatively vulnerable to degeneration in AD. CRF is another neuropeptide with frequently observed changes in AD. Levels of CRF, which is normally present in low concentrations in cortical structures /75/, are decreased in the neocortex and hippocampus of AD patients. However, levels of CRF in the CSF of AD patients are not consistently reduced, but this is likely a reflection of the relatively low levels of CRF normally present in cerebral cortex. Studies of deep gray structures in AD brains reveal elevated levels of GAL in the nucleus basalis. The ability of GAL to inhibit cholinergic neurotransmission has generated considerable interest, since degeneration of cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain consistently occurs in AD. In addition, the presence of NADPH diaphorase in GAL-containing neurons may underlie the relative resistance of these neurons to degeneration. From the aforementioned studies, it appears that the neurons which are relatively resistant to neurodegeneration in AD contain NADPH diaphorase. It is hypothesized that the presence of NADPH diaphorase protects these neurons from neurotoxicity mediated by glutamate or nitric oxide. Although one recent study /147/ has reported an elevation of the microtubule-associated protein tau in the CSF of AD patients (and this could become a useful antemortem diagnostic tool for AD), no similar CSF abnormality has been found for any of the neuropeptides. Thus, the measurement of CSF neuropeptide levels presently remains unhelpful in the diagnosis and treatment of AD. Future research on neuropeptides and their potential roles in the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of AD will likely involve further development of pharmacological modulators of neuropeptide systems, together with the further study of brain neuropeptidases.
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PMID:Neuropeptide changes in cortical and deep gray structures in Alzheimer's disease. 884 72

Calcium deficiency due to insufficient nutritional intake, poor intestinal absorption or excessive urinary loss leading to secondary hyperparathyroidism, increase of calcium influx into nerve cells causing cell death may lead to neuronal dysfunction and cell death as in dialysis encephalopathy with EEG changes and decrease of nerve conduction velocity in chronic renal failure and Alzheimer's disease in aging. Intracellular free calcium (Ca i) is increased in nerve cells showing neurofibrillar tangles associated with tau protein in Alzheimer's disease. Increase of Ca i facilitates presenilin mutation with consequent augmentation of short chain amyloid beta production which further increase Ca i. Peroxide radical production by amyloid beta and metals such as Fe, Cu and Mn is prompted by an increase of Ca i. Plasma membrane damage caused by lipid peroxidation further increases Ca i. Neurotoxic action of apolipoprotein E(4) increasing the risk for Alzheimer's disease may be explained by lipid peroxidation and rise of Ca i. Beneficial effect of estrogen in preventing Alzheimer's disease may also be explained by its anti-oxidant effect and stimulation of intestinal calcium absorption. By increasing calcium intake and administration of active form of vitamin D which cannot be sufficiently supplied by the aging kidney, one step forward should be made in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
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PMID:[Alzheimer disease and calcium]. 1557 64

Hyperphosphorylation of the microtubule-associated protein tau is a key event in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) neuropathology. Acute stress can induce hippocampal tau phosphorylation (tau-P) in rodents, but the mechanisms and pathogenic relevance of this response are unclear. Here, we find that hippocampal tau-P elicited by an acute emotional stressor, restraint, was not affected by preventing the stress-induced rise in glucocorticoids but was blocked by genetic or pharmacologic disruption of signaling through the type 1 corticotropin-releasing factor receptor (CRFR1). Conversely, these responses were exaggerated in CRFR2-deficient mice. Parallel CRFR dependence was seen in the stress-induced activation of specific tau kinases. Repeated stress exposure elicited cumulative effects on tau-P and its sequestration in an insoluble, and potentially pathogenic, form. These findings support differential regulatory roles for CRFRs in an AD-relevant form of neuronal plasticity and may link datasets documenting alterations in the CRF signaling system in AD and implicating chronic stress as a risk factor in age-related neurological disorders.
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PMID:Corticotropin-releasing factor receptors differentially regulate stress-induced tau phosphorylation. 1756 16