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Bender A, Krishnan KJ, Morris CM, Taylor GA, Reeve AK, Perry RH, Jaros E, Hersheson JS, Betts J, Klopstock T, Taylor RW, Turnbull DM. High levels of mitochondrial DNA deletions in substantia nigra neurons in aging and Parkinson disease. Nat Genet 2006; 38:515-7. [PMID: 16604074 DOI: 10.1038/ng1769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1099] [Impact Index Per Article: 61.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2005] [Accepted: 02/24/2006] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Here we show that in substantia nigra neurons from both aged controls and individuals with Parkinson disease, there is a high level of deleted mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) (controls, 43.3% +/- 9.3%; individuals with Parkinson disease, 52.3% +/- 9.3%). These mtDNA mutations are somatic, with different clonally expanded deletions in individual cells, and high levels of these mutations are associated with respiratory chain deficiency. Our studies suggest that somatic mtDNA deletions are important in the selective neuronal loss observed in brain aging and in Parkinson disease.
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Lewis H, Beher D, Cookson N, Oakley A, Piggott M, Morris CM, Jaros E, Perry R, Ince P, Kenny RA, Ballard CG, Shearman MS, Kalaria RN. Quantification of Alzheimer pathology in ageing and dementia: age-related accumulation of amyloid-beta(42) peptide in vascular dementia. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 2006; 32:103-18. [PMID: 16599940 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2990.2006.00696.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Clinicopathological observations suggest there is considerable overlap between vascular dementia (VaD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). We used immunochemical methods to compare quantities of amyloid-beta (Abeta) peptides in post mortem brain samples from VaD, AD subjects and nondemented ageing controls. Total Abeta peptides extracted from temporal and frontal cortices were quantified using a previously characterized sensitive homogenous time-resolved fluorescence (HTRF) assay. The HTRF assays and immunocapture mass spectrometric analyses revealed that the Abeta(42) species were by far the predominant form of extractable peptide compared with Abeta(40) peptide in VaD brains. The strong signal intensity for the peak representing Abeta(4-42) peptide confirmed that these N-terminally truncated species are relatively abundant. Absolute quantification by HTRF assay showed that the mean amount of total Abeta(42) recovered from VaD samples was approximately 50% of that in AD, and twice that in the age-matched controls. Linear correlation analysis further revealed an increased accumulation with age of both Abeta peptides in brains of VaD subjects and controls. Interestingly, VaD patients surviving beyond 80 years of age exhibited comparable Abeta(42) concentrations with those in AD in the temporal cortex. Our findings suggest that brain Abeta accumulates increasingly with age in VaD subjects more so than in elderly without cerebrovascular disease and support the notion that they acquire Alzheimer-like pathology in older age.
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78
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Ballard CG, Morris CM, Rao H, O'Brien JT, Barber R, Stephens S, Rowan E, Gibson A, Kalaria RN, Kenny RA. APOE epsilon4 and cognitive decline in older stroke patients with early cognitive impairment. Neurology 2006; 63:1399-402. [PMID: 15505155 DOI: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000141851.93193.17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dementia is common post stroke, but the potential role of early cognitive impairment and APOE epsilon4 as risk factors is unclear. METHOD Stroke survivors older than 75 years without dementia at 3 months post stroke received a detailed neuropsychological evaluation at 3 and 15 months post stroke, which included the Cambridge Assessment of Mental Disorders in the Elderly (CAMCOG). Early cognitive impairment was diagnosed using the criteria for cognitive impairment/no dementia (vascular CIND). APOE genotype was determined using a standardized method. RESULTS One hundred thirty-seven older stroke patients without dementia (mean age 80.6 +/- 4.3, mean CAMCOG score 83.5 +/- 10.4, 68 women) participated in the study, of whom 40 met the criteria for CIND. Stroke patients with one or more APOE epsilon4 alleles were significantly more likely to have CIND (14/40 vs 17/97, odds ratio = 2.5, 95% CI 1.1 to 5.8). Over the 1 year of follow-up, CIND patients with one or more APOE epsilon4 alleles had a mean decline on the total CAMCOG of 2.7 points compared with an improvement of >4 points among patients without APOE epsilon4 (T = 2.9 p = 0.006). CIND patients with an APOE epsilon4 allele also experienced greater decline in memory (T = 2.5, p = 0.015). CONCLUSION In older stroke patients with early cognitive impairment, the presence of an APOE epsilon4 allele is associated with greater progression of cognitive decline. This has implications for interventions aimed at the secondary prevention of dementia in stroke patients.
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Elson JL, Herrnstadt C, Preston G, Thal L, Morris CM, Edwardson JA, Beal MF, Turnbull DM, Howell N. Does the mitochondrial genome play a role in the etiology of Alzheimer’s disease? Hum Genet 2006; 119:241-54. [PMID: 16408223 DOI: 10.1007/s00439-005-0123-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2005] [Accepted: 12/12/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
We report here the analyses of complete mtDNA coding region sequences from more than 270 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and normal controls to determine if inherited mtDNA mutations contribute to the etiology of AD. The AD patients and normal individuals were carefully screened and drawn from two populations of European descent in an effort to avoid spurious effects due to local population anomalies. Overall, there were no significant haplogroup associations in the combined AD and normal control sequence sets. Reduced median network analysis revealed that the AD mtDNA sequences contained a higher number of substitutions in tRNA genes, and that there was an elevated frequency of replacement substitutions in the complex I genes of the control sequences. Analysis of the replacement substitutions indicated that those arising in the AD mtDNAs were no more deleterious, on average, than those in the control mtDNAs. The only evidence for the synergistic action of mutations was the presence of both a rare non-conservative replacement substitution and a tRNA mutation in 2 AD mtDNAs, from a total of 145, whereas such a combination of mutations was not observed in the control sequences. Overall, the results reported here indicate that pathogenic inherited mtDNA mutations do not constitute a major etiological factor in sporadic AD. At most, a small proportion of AD patients carry a pathogenic mtDNA mutation and a small proportion of cognitively normal aged individuals carry a mtDNA mutation that reduces the risk of AD.
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Chee L, Spearing RL, Morris CM, McDonald M, Hanrahan V, Ebbett A, Scott R, Florkowski C, Walmsley T, Patton WN. Acquired myeloma-associated Type III hyperlipidaemia treated by nonmyeloablative HLA-identical sibling allogeneic stem cell transplant using a donor with essential thrombocythaemia (ET): evidence of engraftment without manifestation of ET in recipient. Bone Marrow Transplant 2005; 35:1213-4. [PMID: 15834434 DOI: 10.1038/sj.bmt.1704973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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81
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Wilson KE, Marouga R, Prime JE, Pashby DP, Orange PR, Crosier S, Keith AB, Lathe R, Mullins J, Estibeiro P, Bergling H, Hawkins E, Morris CM. Comparative proteomic analysis using samples obtained with laser microdissection and saturation dye labelling. Proteomics 2005; 5:3851-8. [PMID: 16145713 DOI: 10.1002/pmic.200401255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Comparative proteomic methods are rapidly being applied to many different biological systems including complex tissues. One pitfall of these methods is that in some cases, such as oncology and neuroscience, tissue complexity requires isolation of specific cell types and sample is limited. Laser microdissection (LMD) is commonly used for obtaining such samples for proteomic studies. We have combined LMD with sensitive thiol-reactive saturation dye labelling of protein samples and 2-D DIGE to identify protein changes in a test system, the isolated CA1 pyramidal neurone layer of a transgenic (Tg) rat carrying a human amyloid precursor protein transgene. Saturation dye labelling proved to be extremely sensitive with a spot map of over 5,000 proteins being readily produced from 5 mug total protein, with over 100 proteins being significantly altered at p < 0.0005. Of the proteins identified, all showed coherent changes associated with transgene expression. It was, however, difficult to identify significantly different proteins using PMF and MALDI-TOF on gels containing less than 500 mug total protein. The use of saturation dye labelling of limiting samples will therefore require the use of highly sensitive MS techniques to identify the significantly altered proteins isolated using methods such as LMD.
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Rowan E, Morris CM, Stephens S, Ballard C, Dickinson H, Rao H, Saxby BK, McLaren AT, Kalaria RN, Kenny RA. Impact of hypertension and apolipoprotein E4 on poststroke cognition in subjects >75 years of age. Stroke 2005; 36:1864-8. [PMID: 16051894 DOI: 10.1161/01.str.0000177524.17424.2a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The apolipoprotein E4 allele (APOE4) associates with increased dementia risk, and hypertension may associate with mild cognitive deficits. We examined whether nondemented stroke patients with (1) a prestroke history of hypertension and (2) APOE4 were more cognitively impaired at 3 months after stroke. METHODS A total of 257 participants were genotyped and outcomes from neuropsychological evaluations analyzed using regression. RESULTS Total Cambridge Assessment for Mental Disorders in the Elderly (CAMCOG) and speed of working memory significantly associated with hypertension. No outcomes significantly associated with APOE4. CONCLUSIONS Subjects with prestroke hypertension had more impaired global cognition and slower access to information held in working memory.
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Myers AJ, Kaleem M, Marlowe L, Pittman AM, Lees AJ, Fung HC, Duckworth J, Leung D, Gibson A, Morris CM, de Silva R, Hardy J. The H1c haplotype at the MAPT locus is associated with Alzheimer's disease. Hum Mol Genet 2005; 14:2399-404. [PMID: 16000317 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddi241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 162] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Although it is clear that microtubule associated protein tau (MAPT) is involved in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology, it has not been clear whether it is involved genetically. We have recently examined the MAPT locus in progressive supranuclear palsy and found that a haplotype (H1c) on the background of the well-described H1 clade is associated with PSP. Here we report that the same haplotype is associated with the risk of AD in two autopsy confirmed series of cases with ages at death >65 years.
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Holmes C, Ballard C, Lehmann D, David Smith A, Beaumont H, Day IN, Nadeem Khan M, Lovestone S, McCulley M, Morris CM, Munoz DG, O'Brien K, Russ C, Del Ser T, Warden D. Rate of progression of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease: effect of butyrylcholinesterase K gene variation. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2005; 76:640-3. [PMID: 15834019 PMCID: PMC1739631 DOI: 10.1136/jnnp.2004.039321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To determine whether individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the K variant allele of butyrylcholinesterase have a slower rate of cognitive decline than those without the K variant allele of butyrylcholinesterase. METHOD The cognitive status of 339 community based subjects with AD was assessed with the Mini Mental State Examination at baseline and yearly over a three year follow up period. The rates of cognitive decline of subjects with and without the K variant allele were compared. RESULT Presence of the K allele was associated with a slower average rate of cognitive decline in subjects with severe AD. CONCLUSIONS This finding is consistent with the suggestion that the K variant of butyrylcholinesterase has an important role in disease progression in AD, and this may have implications for treatment.
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85
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Pittman AM, Myers AJ, Abou-Sleiman P, Fung HC, Kaleem M, Marlowe L, Duckworth J, Leung D, Williams D, Kilford L, Thomas N, Morris CM, Dickson D, Wood NW, Hardy J, Lees AJ, de Silva R. Linkage disequilibrium fine mapping and haplotype association analysis of the tau gene in progressive supranuclear palsy and corticobasal degeneration. J Med Genet 2005; 42:837-46. [PMID: 15792962 PMCID: PMC1735957 DOI: 10.1136/jmg.2005.031377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 198] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The haplotype H1 of the tau gene, MAPT, is highly associated with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal degeneration (CBD). OBJECTIVE To investigate the pathogenic basis of this association. METHODS Detailed linkage disequilibrium and common haplotype structure of MAPT were examined in 27 CEPH trios using validated HapMap genotype data for 24 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) spanning MAPT. RESULTS Multiple variants of the H1 haplotype were resolved, reflecting a far greater diversity of MAPT than can be explained by the H1 and H2 clades alone. Based on this, six haplotype tagging SNPs (htSNPs) that capture 95% of the common haplotype diversity were used to genotype well characterised PSP and CBD case-control cohorts. In addition to strong association with PSP and CBD of individual SNPs, two common haplotypes derived from these htSNPs were identified that are highly associated with PSP: the sole H2 derived haplotype was underrepresented and one of the common H1 derived haplotypes was highly associated, with a similar trend observed in CBD. There were powerful and highly significant associations with PSP and CBD of haplotypes formed by three H1 specific SNPs. This made it possible to define a candidate region of at least approximately 56 kb, spanning sequences from upstream of MAPT exon 1 to intron 9. On the H1 haplotype background, these could harbour the pathogenic variants. CONCLUSIONS The findings support the pathological evidence that underlying variations in MAPT could contribute to disease pathogenesis by subtle effects on gene expression and/or splicing. They also form the basis for the investigation of the possible genetic role of MAPT in Parkinson's disease and other tauopathies, including Alzheimer's disease.
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Johnson J, Hague SM, Hanson M, Gibson A, Wilson KE, Evans EW, Singleton AA, McInerney-Leo A, Nussbaum RL, Hernandez DG, Gallardo M, McKeith IG, Burn DJ, Ryu M, Hellstrom O, Ravina B, Eerola J, Perry RH, Jaros E, Tienari P, Weiser R, Gwinn-Hardy K, Morris CM, Hardy J, Singleton AB. SNCA multiplication is not a common cause of Parkinson disease or dementia with Lewy bodies. Neurology 2005; 63:554-6. [PMID: 15304594 DOI: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000133401.09043.44] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The authors recently have shown that triplication of the alpha-synuclein gene (SNCA) can cause Parkinson disease (PD) and diffuse Lewy body disease within the same kindred. The authors assessed 101 familial PD probands, 325 sporadic PD cases, 65 patients with dementia with Lewy bodies, and 366 neurologically normal control subjects for SNCA multiplication. The authors did not identify any subjects with multiplication of SNCA and conclude this mutation is a rare cause of disease.
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Newton JL, Kerr S, Pairman J, McLaren A, Norton M, Kenny RA, Morris CM. Familial neurocardiogenic (vasovagal) syncope. Am J Med Genet A 2005; 133A:176-9. [PMID: 15666305 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.a.30572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Vasovagal syncope (VSS) is an exaggerated tendency towards the common faint caused by a sudden and profound hypotension with or without bradycardia. The etiology of VVS is unknown though several lines of evidence indicate central and peripheral abnormalities of sympathetic function. Studies however indicate a strong heritable component to the etiology of VVS in over 20% of cases. Here, we report the findings from a family that shows apparently autosomal dominant VVS in at least three generations. Clinical findings included an absence of any discernible cardiac or autonomic abnormalities and reproducible hypotension on tilt table testing in affected family members.
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88
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Margallo-Lana M, Morris CM, Gibson AM, Tan AL, Kay DWK, Tyrer SP, Moore BP, Ballard CG. Influence of the amyloid precursor protein locus on dementia in Down syndrome. Neurology 2004; 62:1996-8. [PMID: 15184603 DOI: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000129275.13169.be] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The amyloid precursor protein (APP) locus on chromosome 21 influences the development of Alzheimer disease. METHOD The authors investigated the relationship between a tetranucleotide repeat on intron 7 of the APP gene and the age at onset of dementia in Down syndrome (DS). RESULTS There was a 13-year difference in the age at onset of dementia in DS associated with the number of tetranucleotide repeat alleles in APP. CONCLUSION APP is an important locus predicting the age at onset of dementia in people with Down syndrome.
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89
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Busby J, O'Brien KK, Gibson AM, McKeith IG, Perry RH, Hardy JA, Singleton AB, Morris CM. Dementia with Lewy bodies: no association of polymorphisms in the human synphilin gene. Neurogenetics 2004; 5:251-2. [PMID: 15490287 DOI: 10.1007/s10048-004-0188-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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90
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Morris CM, Wilson KE. High throughput approaches in neuroscience. Int J Dev Neurosci 2004; 22:515-22. [PMID: 15465281 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2004.07.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2004] [Accepted: 07/12/2004] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Traditional approaches to understanding biological problems are now being advanced with the use of high throughput technologies, which analyse multiple samples simultaneously, or thousands of analytes in a single sample. The application of these technologies in neurochemistry and neuroscience is beginning to be explored and is assisting in the development of new models of drug action, neuroanatomical investigations, and in identifying molecular pathways involved in neurological and psychiatric disease. Tools such as microarray-based gene expression profiling and 2D and multidimensional proteomic methods are uncovering functional components to a wide variety of neuroscience paradigms and the application of these technologies is set to become standard in analysis.
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Wilson KE, Ryan MM, Prime JE, Pashby DP, Orange PR, O'Beirne G, Whateley JG, Bahn S, Morris CM. Functional genomics and proteomics: application in neurosciences. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2004; 75:529-38. [PMID: 15026490 PMCID: PMC1739030 DOI: 10.1136/jnnp.2003.026260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The sequencing of the complete genome for many organisms, including man, has opened the door to the systematic understanding of how complex structures such as the brain integrate and function, not only in health but also in disease. This blueprint, however, means that the piecemeal analysis regimes of the past are being rapidly superseded by new methods that analyse not just tens of genes or proteins at any one time, but thousands, if not the entire repertoire of a cell population or tissue under investigation. Using the most appropriate method of analysis to maximise the available data therefore becomes vital if a complete picture is to be obtained of how a system or individual cell is affected by a treatment or disease. This review examines what methods are currently available for the large scale analysis of gene and protein expression, and what are their limitations.
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Gibson AM, Edwardson JA, Turnbull DM, McKeith IG, Morris CM, Chinnery PF. No evidence of an association between the T16189C mtDNA variant and late onset dementia. J Med Genet 2004; 41:e7. [PMID: 14729847 PMCID: PMC1757261 DOI: 10.1136/jmg.2003.010983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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93
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Morris CM, O'Brien KK, Gibson AM, Hardy JA, Singleton AB. Polymorphism in the human DJ-1 gene is not associated with sporadic dementia with Lewy bodies or Parkinson's disease. Neurosci Lett 2003; 352:151-3. [PMID: 14625045 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2003.08.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Genetic analysis of early onset Parkinson's disease (PD) has indicated that the mutation DJ-1 gene is one cause of autosomal recessive PD. Its role in the development of late onset PD and other Lewy body associated disorders such as dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is however unknown. We have therefore determined the influence of a common polymorphism in the DJ-1 gene that shows strong linkage disequilibrium with other DJ-1 polymorphisms, in late onset PD and DLB. No alteration in the frequency of the intron 1 deletion allele was seen in PD or DLB, nor were DJ-1 genotypes altered by disease. Stratification of the cases according to the apolipoprotein E epsilon4 allele additionally failed to show any significant association. The DJ-1 gene does not appear to be a significant risk factor for late onset Lewy body disease in this population.
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Heckmann JM, Low WC, de Villiers C, Rutherfoord S, Vorster A, Rao H, Morris CM, Ramesar RS, Kalaria RN. Novel presenilin 1 mutation with profound neurofibrillary pathology in an indigenous Southern African family with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2003; 127:133-42. [PMID: 14570818 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awh009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Genetically determined Alzheimer's disease (AD) is virtually unknown in Africa. We report clinicopathological findings and a presenilin 1 (PS1) mutation associated with early-onset AD in a large Xhosa family from Southern Africa. Twelve individuals spanning four generations were affected, four of whom underwent clinical and psychometric evaluation. Their phenotype was characterized by memory impairment beginning in the early part of the fifth decade, with progressive dementing illness lasting 6-7 years that did not appear to be modified by the presence of an apolipoprotein E (APOE)-epsilon 4 allele. Initial linkage-based analysis using known DNA markers suggested allele cosegregation with a locus on chromosome 14. Direct sequencing of the PS1 gene disclosed a novel I143M (ATT to ATG at nucleotide 677) mutation that lies in a cluster in the second transmembrane domain of the protein. Examination of the proband's brain at autopsy revealed severe AD pathology characterized by neuronal loss, abundant beta amyloid (A beta) neuritic plaques (A beta 42) and neurofibrillary degeneration extending into the brainstem. The phenotype of the I143M mutation was clearly associated with a high degree of neurofibrillary change compared with early-onset sporadic AD cases. Although sporadic cases of AD do exist in African populations, our study confirms the existence of early-onset familial AD among indigenous Southern Africans.
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Melton LM, Keith AB, Davis S, Oakley AE, Edwardson JA, Morris CM. Chronic glial activation, neurodegeneration, and APP immunoreactive deposits following acute administration of double-stranded RNA. Glia 2003; 44:1-12. [PMID: 12951652 DOI: 10.1002/glia.10276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Several neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, are associated with immunocompetent microglia, leading to the suggestion that chronic glial-mediated inflammation contributes to the neurodegeneration seen in these diseases. Little direct evidence supports this hypothesis, and no suitable rodent models exist that do not involve the use of blunt trauma or ischaemia, events that are infrequently encountered in the human disease state. In the present study, we report that administration of double-stranded RNA, a classical inducer of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), causes rapid and persistent activation of microglia and astrocytes, as well as induction of interleukin-1beta (IL-beta) and nitric oxide synthase. In close temporal succession to glial activation, there is neurodegeneration, with neuron loss involving apoptosis in selected brain regions including the septal nucleus, hippocampus, cortex and thalamus, along with hippocampal atrophy. This neuronal loss is accompanied by punctate deposits of material that are immunoreactive for amyloid precursor protein, beta-amyloid peptide (Abeta), and apolipoprotein E. The findings may have clinical relevance, since the administration of the nonsteroidal antiinflammatory agent (NSAID) ibuprofen markedly reduces the neurodegeneration observed in the absence of significant glial inhibition. These findings may be relevant to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease in particular, and to other neurodegenerative diseases involving inflammation.
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Kalaria RN, Low WC, Oakley AE, Slade JY, Ince PG, Morris CM, Mizuno T. CADASIL and genetics of cerebral ischaemia. JOURNAL OF NEURAL TRANSMISSION. SUPPLEMENTUM 2003:75-90. [PMID: 12597610 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-7091-6137-1_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/01/2023]
Abstract
Recent advances suggest the existence of several autosomal dominantly inherited forms of cerebrovascular disorders. Mutations in diverse genes may induce direct pathological changes in intracranial vessels to cause cerebral ischaemic or haemorrhagic strokes leading to cognitive impairment and dementia. Similar pathology may also be caused by systemic vascular disease resulting from mutations and polymorphisms in genes that regulate cardiovascular physiology, blood coagulation and metabolic functions. The most common form of familial stroke appears to be CADASIL or cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy. CADASIL is an arterial disease that has been linked to nucleotide substitutions and deletions in the Notch 3 gene. The pathogenesis of the disorder or how the mutations lead to cerebral infarcts and dementia is not known. However, elucidation of the microvascular pathology associated with such genetic disorders not associated with physiological risk factors for cardiovascular disease or stroke can bear much light on primary vascular mechanisms that lead to ischaemic blood flow and neuronal vulnerability.
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Yu-Wai-Man P, Morris CM, Zeviani M, Carrara F, Turnbull DM, Chinnery PF. The role of APOE in the phenotypic expression of Leber hereditary optic neuropathy. J Med Genet 2003; 40:e41. [PMID: 12676914 PMCID: PMC1735433 DOI: 10.1136/jmg.40.4.e41] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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98
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O'Brien KK, Saxby BK, Ballard CG, Grace J, Harrington F, Ford GA, O'Brien JT, Swan AG, Fairbairn AF, Wesnes K, del Ser T, Edwardson JA, Morris CM, McKeith IG. Regulation of attention and response to therapy in dementia by butyrylcholinesterase. PHARMACOGENETICS 2003; 13:231-9. [PMID: 12668920 DOI: 10.1097/00008571-200304000-00008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To determine the response of patients with different butyrylcholinesterase genotypes to therapy, and the influence of butyrylcholinesterase on cognition. Acetylcholine plays a key role in attention and memory and reduced cortical acetylcholine is associated with the severity of dementia. Inhibitors of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase are an effective dementia treatment, though the role of the related enzyme butyrylcholinesterase is less well understood. METHODS We examined the response of a cohort of dementia patients enrolled in a trial of a cholinesterase inhibitor who had been genotyped at the butyrylcholinesterase locus. Additionally a prospectively assessed cohort of dementia patients was genotyped and rate of cognitive decline examined, along with baseline cognitive performance in a group of elderly non-demented individuals. We identified that the presence of reduced-activity butyrylcholinesterase variants correlates with preserved attentional performance and reduced rate of cognitive decline. During cholinesterase inhibitor therapy, patients with normal butyrylcholinesterase show improved attention, though patients carrying reduced-activity enzyme do not, possibly due to being at ceiling performance. Butyrylcholinesterase did not however affect attentional performance in non-demented individuals with mild cognitive impairment. CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate that the butyrylcholinesterase enzyme is a major regulator of attention especially in cholinergic deficiency states through its ability to hydrolyse acetylcholine. Pharmacologic manipulation of this enzyme may be a viable strategy in dementia treatment and, with butyrylcholinesterase genotyping, may provide pharmacogenomic treatment of dementia.
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Singleton AB, Wharton A, O'Brien KK, Walker MP, McKeith IG, Ballard CG, O'Brien J, Perry RH, Ince PG, Edwardson JA, Morris CM. Clinical and neuropathological correlates of apolipoprotein E genotype in dementia with Lewy bodies. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord 2003; 14:167-75. [PMID: 12411758 DOI: 10.1159/000066022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) represents the second commonest cause of dementia in the elderly following Alzheimer's disease (AD). Whilst the presence of Lewy bodies is essential, DLB shares with AD the presence of senile plaques (SP), but neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) are not a necessary feature. The apolipoprotein E (APO E) epsilon4 allele is the most consistently associated genetic risk factor for AD and has also been shown to associate with DLB. We have therefore analysed the APO E epsilon4 allele in a large series of DLB cases coming to autopsy to: (1) determine if the epsilon4 allele describes a similar risk in DLB development as in AD and (2) determine how APO E epsilon4 allele status correlates with clinical and neuropathological findings in DLB, and in AD, as an indication of the role of APO E in underlying disease biology. Both DLB and AD share an increased epsilon4 allele frequency, though in DLB the epsilon2 allele frequency is not reduced and there is a relative lack of epsilon4 homozygotes. In contrast to previous studies, no association of the epsilon4 allele with age at onset or duration of disease was found in either disorders. In DLB cases, overall a significantly shorter duration of illness was observed when compared with AD cases, though no significant effect of the epsilon4 allele on disease onset or duration was seen. The survival rate was reduced by the presence of the epsilon4 allele in DLB, as with AD. No effect on SP or NFT counts was seen with the epsilon4 allele, though DLB cases showed a lower SP burden in addition to the expected lower NFT counts. This study demonstrates that DLB shares the APO epsilon4 allele with AD as a common risk factor, but that there are differences in the way the epsilon4 allele affects the phenotypic expression of disease.
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Crompton DE, Chinnery PF, Fey C, Curtis ARJ, Morris CM, Kierstan J, Burt A, Young F, Coulthard A, Curtis A, Ince PG, Bates D, Jackson MJ, Burn J. Neuroferritinopathy: a window on the role of iron in neurodegeneration. Blood Cells Mol Dis 2002; 29:522-31. [PMID: 12547246 DOI: 10.1006/bcmd.2002.0589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Neuroferritinopathy is a recently recognised genetic disease resulting in a dominantly inherited movement disorder. The condition was mapped by linkage analysis to chromosome 19q13.3 and found to be due to a single adenine insertion in the ferritin light chain (FTL) gene at position 460-461 which is predicted to alter the C terminus of the FTL polypeptide. Clinical features of neuroferritinopathy are highly variable, with chorea, dystonia, and Parkinsonian features predominating in different affected individuals. The most consistent feature is a dystonic dysarthria. Symptoms and abnormal physical signs appear to be restricted to the nervous system and onset is typically in the fourth to sixth decades. Low serum ferritin also characterises this condition. Brain MR imaging of affected patients demonstrates iron deposition in the basal ganglia, progressing over years to cystic degeneration, and brain histochemistry shows abnormal aggregates of ferritin and iron. Now that the molecular basis of the condition is known, therapeutic interventions to reduce or reverse brain iron deposition are being evaluated. This rare disease provides evidence of a central role for iron metabolism in neurodegenerative disorders.
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