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)

Arsenic (As) is a worldwide naturally occurring metalloid. Human chronic exposure to inorganic As compounds (iAs), which are at the top of hazardous substances (ATSDR, 2013), is associated with different diseases including cancer and non- cancerous diseases. The neurotoxic effects of iAs and its methylated metabolites have been demonstrated in exposed populations and experimental models. Impaired cognitive abilities have been described in children and adults chronically exposed to iAs through drinking water. Even though different association studies failed to demonstrate that As causes neurodegenerative diseases, several toxicity mechanisms of iAs parallel those mechanisms associated with neurodegeneration, including oxidative stress and inflammation, impaired protein degradation, autophagy, and intracellular accumulation, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Additionally, different reports have shown that specifically in brain tissue, iAs and its metabolites induce hyper-phosphorylation of the tau protein and over-regulation of the amyloid precursor protein, impaired neurotransmitters synthesis and synaptic transmission, increased glutamate receptors activation, and decreased glutamate transporters expression. Interestingly, increased and sustained pro-inflammatory responses mediated by cytokines and related factors, seems to be the triggering factor for all of such cellular pathological effects. Therefore, this review proposes that iAs-associated cognitive impairment could be the result of the activation of pro-inflammatory responses in the brain tissue, which also may favor neurodegeneration or increase the risk for neurodegenerative diseases in exposed human populations.
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PMID:Toxicity mechanisms of arsenic that are shared with neurodegenerative diseases and cognitive impairment: Role of oxidative stress and inflammatory responses. 2686 56

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease which manifests demyelination of neuronal cells in the brain. Despite extensive research on the mechanisms of disease development and progression, the exact mechanism is not elucidated yet, which has hampered drug development and subsequent treatment of the disease. We have recently shown that the serum levels of arsenic and malondialdehyde, a lipid peroxidation marker, are high in MS patients. In this article, we would like to formulate the hypothesis that arsenic may cause MS by induction of inflammation, degeneration, and apoptosis in neuronal cells. The induction of ROS generation in cells upon exposure to arsenic as a heavy metal may be involved in the pathogenesis of MS. Tau protein, a member of the family of microtubule-associated proteins, is mainly expressed in neurons and contribute to the assembly of neuronal microtubules network. Arsenic may affect the hyperphosphorylation and aggregation of tau proteins and may be involved in the cascade leading to deregulation of tau function associated with neurodegeneration. For validation of this hypothesis, studies might be conducted to evaluate the association of arsenic levels and tau protein levels in MS patients. Further studies might also focus on the trafficking along microtubules in neurons of MS patient with regard to hyperphosphorylation of tau protein. This hypothesis may add a new dimension to the understanding of MS etiology and help to design novel therapeutic agents against potential targets that might be discovered. If this hypothesis proves to be true, tau phosphorylation inhibitors can be potential candidates for MS drug development.
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PMID:The hypothetical roles of arsenic in multiple sclerosis by induction of inflammation and aggregation of tau protein: A commentary. 2769 18