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Huh S, Yu HS, Kang N, Ahn YM, Kim YS, Kim SH. Electroconvulsive Seizure Normalizes Motor Deficits and Induces Autophagy Signaling in the MPTP-Induced Parkinson Disease Mouse Model. Psychiatry Investig 2023; 20:273-283. [PMID: 36990671 PMCID: PMC10064206 DOI: 10.30773/pi.2022.0327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 03/31/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Electroconvulsive seizure (ECS) is a potent treatment modality for various neuropsychiatric diseases, including Parkinson disease (PD). Recent animal studies showed that repeated ECS activates autophagy signaling, the impairment of which is known to be involved in PD. However, the effectiveness of ECS on PD and its therapeutic mechanisms have not yet been investigated in detail. METHODS Systemic injection of a neurotoxin 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine hydrochloride (MPTP), which destroys dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra compacta (SNc), in mice was utilized to induce an animal model of PD. Mice were treated with ECS 3 times per week for 2 weeks. Behavioral changes were measured with a rotarod test. Molecular changes related to autophagy signaling in midbrain including SNc, striatum, and prefrontal cortex were analyzed with immunohistochemistry and immunoblot analyses. RESULTS Repeated ECS treatments normalized the motor deficits and the loss of dopamiergic neurons in SNc of the MPTP PD mouse model. In the mouse model, LC3-II, an autophagy marker, was increased in midbrain while decreased in prefrontal cortex, both of which were reversed by repeated ECS treatments. In the prefrontal cortex, ECS-induced LC3-II increase was accompanied with AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-Unc-51-like kinase 1-Beclin1 pathway activation and inhibition of mamalian target of rapamycin signaling which promotes autophagy initiation. CONCLUSION The findings revealed the therapeutic effects of repeated ECS treatments on PD, which could be attributed to the neuroprotective effect of ECS mediated by AMPK-autophagy signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seonghoo Huh
- Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyun Sook Yu
- Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Nuree Kang
- Department of Psychiatry, Gyeongsang National University Hospital, Jinju, Republic of Korea
| | - Yong Min Ahn
- Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Yong Sik Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, Nowon Eulji Meical Center, Eulji University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Se Hyun Kim
- Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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Collins TK, Houghten S. A centrality based multi-objective approach to disease gene association. Biosystems 2020; 193-194:104133. [PMID: 32243908 DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2020.104133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2019] [Revised: 02/27/2020] [Accepted: 03/23/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Disease Gene Association finds genes that are involved in the presentation of a given genetic disease. We present a hybrid approach which implements a multi-objective genetic algorithm, where input consists of centrality measures based on various relational biological evidence types merged into a complex network. Multiple objective settings and parameters are studied including the development of a new exchange methodology, safe dealer-based crossover. Successful results with respect to breast cancer and Parkinson's disease compared to previous techniques and popular known databases are shown. In addition, the newly developed methodology is also successfully applied to Alzheimer's disease, further demonstrating its flexibility. Across all three case studies the strongest results were produced by the shortest path-based measures stress and betweenness, either in a single objective parameter setting or when used in conjunction in a multi-objective environment. The new crossover technique achieved the best results when applied to Alzheimer's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler K Collins
- Computer Science Department, Brock University, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines, Ontario L2S 3A1, Canada
| | - Sheridan Houghten
- Computer Science Department, Brock University, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines, Ontario L2S 3A1, Canada.
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Viana SD, Pita IR, Lemos C, Rial D, Couceiro P, Rodrigues-Santos P, Caramelo F, Carvalho F, Ali SF, Prediger RD, Fontes Ribeiro CA, Pereira FC. The effects of physical exercise on nonmotor symptoms and on neuroimmune RAGE network in experimental parkinsonism. J Appl Physiol (1985) 2017; 123:161-171. [PMID: 28385921 DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.01120.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2016] [Revised: 03/30/2017] [Accepted: 04/02/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) prodromal stages comprise neuropsychiatric perturbations that critically compromise a patient's quality of life. These nonmotor symptoms (NMS) are associated with exacerbated innate immunity, a hallmark of overt PD. Physical exercise (PE) has the potential to improve neuropsychiatric deficits and to modulate immune network including receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) and Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in distinct pathological settings. Accordingly, the present study aimed to test the hypothesis that PE 1) alleviates PD NMS and 2) modulates neuroimmune RAGE network in experimental PD. Adult Wistar rats subjected to long-term mild treadmill were administered intranasally with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) and probed for PD NMS before the onset of motor abnormalities. Twelve days after MPTP, neuroimmune RAGE network transcriptomics (real-time quantitative PCR) was analyzed in frontal cortex, hippocampus, and striatum. Untrained MPTP animals displayed habit-learning and motivational deficits without gross motor impairments (cued version of water-maze, splash, and open-field tests, respectively). A suppression of RAGE and neuroimmune-related genes was observed in frontal cortex on chemical and physical stressors (untrained MPTP: RAGE, TLR5 and -7, and p22 NADPH oxidase; saline-trained animals: RAGE, TLR1 and -5 to -11, TNF-α, IL-1β, and p22 NADPH oxidase), suggesting the recruitment of compensatory mechanisms to restrain innate inflammation. Notably, trained MPTP animals displayed normal cognitive/motivational performances. Additionally, these animals showed normal RAGE expression and neuroprotective PD-related DJ-1 gene upregulation in frontal cortex when compared with untrained MPTP animals. These findings corroborate PE efficacy in improving PD NMS and newly identify RAGE network as a neural substrate for exercise intervention. Additional research is warranted to unveil functional consequences of PE-induced modulation of RAGE/DJ-1 transcriptomics in PD premotor stages.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study newly shows that physical exercise (PE) corrects nonmotor symptoms of the intranasal 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) model of experimental parkinsonism. Additionally, we show that suppression of neuroimmune receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) network occurs in frontal cortex on chemical (MPTP) and physical (PE) interventions. Finally, PE normalizes frontal cortical RAGE transcriptomics and upregulates the neuroprotective DJ-1 gene in the intranasal MPTP model of experimental parkinsonism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia D Viana
- Laboratory of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology-Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde de Coimbra-Coimbra Health School, Pharmacy, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Inês R Pita
- Laboratory of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology-Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Cristina Lemos
- Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Daniel Rial
- Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Departamento de Farmacologia, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil
| | - Patrícia Couceiro
- Immunology and Oncology Laboratory, Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Paulo Rodrigues-Santos
- Immunology and Oncology Laboratory, Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Institute of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Center of Investigation in Environment, Genetics and Oncobiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Francisco Caramelo
- Laboratory of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Félix Carvalho
- Research Unit on Applied Molecular Biosciences, Rede de Química e Tecnologia, Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal; and
| | - Syed F Ali
- Neurochemistry Laboratory, Division of Neurotoxicology, National Center of Toxicological Research, Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, Arkansas
| | - Rui D Prediger
- Departamento de Farmacologia, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil
| | - Carlos A Fontes Ribeiro
- Laboratory of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology-Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Frederico C Pereira
- Laboratory of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; .,Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology-Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
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Ding H, Underwood R, Lavalley N, Yacoubian TA. 14-3-3 inhibition promotes dopaminergic neuron loss and 14-3-3θ overexpression promotes recovery in the MPTP mouse model of Parkinson's disease. Neuroscience 2015; 307:73-82. [PMID: 26314634 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.08.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2015] [Revised: 07/25/2015] [Accepted: 08/18/2015] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
14-3-3s are a highly conserved protein family that plays important roles in cell survival and interact with several proteins implicated in Parkinson's disease (PD). Disruption of 14-3-3 expression and function has been implicated in the pathogenesis of PD. We have previously shown that increasing the expression level of 14-3-3θ is protective against rotenone and 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP(+)) in cultured cells. Here, we extend our studies to examine the effects of 14-3-3s in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) mouse model of PD. We first investigated whether targeted nigral 14-3-3θ overexpression mediated by adeno-associated virus offers neuroprotection against MPTP-induced toxicity. 14-3-3θ overexpression using this approach did not reduce MPTP-induced dopaminergic cell loss in the substantia nigra nor the depletion of dopamine (DA) and its metabolites in the striatum at three weeks after MPTP administration. However, 14-3-3θ-overexpressing mice showed a later partial recovery in striatal DA metabolites at eight weeks after MPTP administration compared to controls, suggesting that 14-3-3θ overexpression may help in the functional recovery of those dopaminergic neurons that survive. Conversely, we investigated whether disrupting 14-3-3 function in transgenic mice expressing the pan 14-3-3 inhibitor difopein exacerbates MPTP-induced toxicity. We found that difopein expression promoted dopaminergic cell loss in response to MPTP treatment. Together, these findings suggest that 14-3-3θ overexpression promotes recovery of DA metabolites whereas 14-3-3 inhibition exacerbates neuron loss in the MPTP mouse model of PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Ding
- Department of Neurology, Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA
| | - R Underwood
- Department of Neurology, Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA
| | - N Lavalley
- Department of Neurology, Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA
| | - T A Yacoubian
- Department of Neurology, Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA.
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Rachalski A, Authier S, Bassett L, Pouliot M, Tremblay G, Mongrain V. Sleep electroencephalographic characteristics of the Cynomolgus monkey measured by telemetry. J Sleep Res 2014; 23:619-627. [PMID: 25109588 DOI: 10.1111/jsr.12189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2014] [Accepted: 05/24/2014] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Cynomolgus monkeys are widely used as models of diseases and in pre-clinical studies to assess the impact of new pharmacotherapies on brain function and behaviour. However, the time course of electroencephalographic delta activity during sleep, which represents the main marker of sleep intensity associated with recovery during sleep, has never been described in this non-human primate. In this study, telemetry implants were used to record one spontaneous 24-h sleep-wake cycle in four freely-moving Cynomolgus monkeys, and to quantify the time course of electroencephalographic activity during sleep using spectral analysis. Animals presented a diurnal activity pattern interrupted by short naps. During the dark period, most of the time was spent in sleep with non-rapid eye movement sleep/rapid eye movement sleep alternations and sleep consolidation profiles intermediate between rodents and humans. Deep non-rapid eye movement sleep showed a typical predominance at the beginning of the night with decreased propensity in the course of the night, which was accompanied by a progressive increase in rapid eye movement sleep duration. Spectral profiles showed characteristic changes between vigilance states as reported in other mammalian species. Importantly, delta activity also followed the expected time course of variation, showing a build-up with wakefulness duration and dissipation across the night. Thus, Cynomolgus monkeys present typical characteristics of sleep architecture and spectral structure as those observed in other mammalian species including humans, validating the use of telemetry in this non-human primate model for translational sleep studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adeline Rachalski
- Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada.,Research Center, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Simon Authier
- CiToxLAB North America, 445 Armand Frappier, Laval, QC, Canada
| | - Leanne Bassett
- CiToxLAB North America, 445 Armand Frappier, Laval, QC, Canada
| | - Mylène Pouliot
- CiToxLAB North America, 445 Armand Frappier, Laval, QC, Canada
| | - Gaétan Tremblay
- Research Center, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Valérie Mongrain
- Research Center, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada.,Department of Neurosciences, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
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Tian C, Liu D, Xiang W, Kretzschmar HA, Sun QL, Gao C, Xu Y, Wang H, Fan XY, Meng G, Li W, Dong XP. Analyses of the similarity and difference of global gene expression profiles in cortex regions of three neurodegenerative diseases: sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), fatal familial insomnia (FFI), and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Mol Neurobiol 2014; 50:473-81. [PMID: 24902808 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-014-8758-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2013] [Accepted: 05/21/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Neurodegenerative disease is a general designation for the disorders that are progressive loss of structure or function and final death of neurons, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, prion diseases, etc. In this study, we comparatively analyzed 21 individual microarray data sets of the cortex tissues from 11 sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), 3 fatal familial insomnia (FFI), 3 Alzheimer's disease (AD), and 4 normal controls. After normalization, a collection of 730 differently expressed sets (DESets) were obtained by comparison of the data of three diseases with their original controls. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed a background-related distribution within the groups of FFI, AD, and normal control, but two apparently different subgroups within the group of sCJD were observed. Review of the clinical materials of 11 sCJD patients identified the difference in brain PrP(Sc) deposits between two subgroups. Hierarchical cluster analysis illustrated the relatively independent clusters of normal controls, FFIs, six sCJD cases (subgroup 1) with more PrP(Sc) deposits, respectively, while an overlapped cluster of five cases of sCJD2 (subgroup 2) with less PrP(Sc) deposits and AD patients. Despite of the presence of special gene expressions, many common features were found among those neurodegenerative diseases. The most commonly changed biological processes (BPs) were signal transduction, synaptic transmission, and neuropeptide signaling pathway. The most commonly changed pathways were MAPK signaling pathway, Parkinson's disease, and oxidative phosphorylation. Our data here provide the similarity and difference in global gene expressions among the patients with sCJD, FFI, and AD, which may help to understand the common mechanism of neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chan Tian
- State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Changbai Rd 155, Beijing, 102206, People's Republic of China
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Ding H, Fineberg NS, Gray M, Yacoubian TA. α-Synuclein overexpression represses 14-3-3θ transcription. J Mol Neurosci 2013; 51:1000-9. [PMID: 23912650 DOI: 10.1007/s12031-013-0086-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2013] [Accepted: 07/25/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Previous gene microarray studies have shown that expression of 14-3-3θ is significantly decreased in an α-synuclein transgenic mouse model. In this study, we tested whether α-synuclein can regulate 14-3-3θ transcription. We demonstrate that the 14-3-3θ mRNA level is decreased in SH-SY5Y cells overexpressing α-synuclein. Luciferase activity under the control of the 14-3-3θ promoter is reduced both in stable SH-SY5Y cells constitutively overexpressing α-synuclein and in doxycycline-inducible SH-SY5Y cells upon α-synuclein induction, suggesting that the regulation of 14-3-3θ by α-synuclein occurs at the transcriptional level. Knockdown of α-synuclein by RNA interference does not increase the 14-3-3θ mRNA level. These findings suggest that α-synuclein represses 14-3-3θ transcription under pathologic conditions, but that regulation of 14-3-3θ expression is not a function of endogenous α-synuclein at baseline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huiping Ding
- Department of Neurology, Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Civitan International Research Center 560D, 1719 6th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
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Le Grand JN, Bon K, Fraichard A, Zhang J, Jouvenot M, Risold PY, Boyer-Guittaut M, Delage-Mourroux R. Specific distribution of the autophagic protein GABARAPL1/GEC1 in the developing and adult mouse brain and identification of neuronal populations expressing GABARAPL1/GEC1. PLoS One 2013; 8:e63133. [PMID: 23690988 PMCID: PMC3655077 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0063133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2012] [Accepted: 03/27/2013] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Macroautophagy is a highly conserved cellular degradation process, regulated by autophagy-related (atg) factors, in which a double membrane autophagosome engulfs cytoplasmic components to target them for degradation. In yeast, the Atg8 protein is indispensable for autophagosome formation. In mammals, this is complicated by the presence of six Atg8 homologues grouped into the GABARAP and MAP1LC3 subfamilies. Although these proteins share a high similarity, their transcript expression, regulation and protein interactions differ, suggesting they may display individual properties and specific functions. GABARAPL1/GEC1 is a member of the GABARAP subfamily and its mRNA is the most highly expressed Atg8 homologue in the central nervous system. Consequently, we performed an in depth study of GABARAPL1 distribution in the developing and adult murine brain. Our results show that GABARAPL1 brain expression is visible as early as embryonic day 11 and progressively increases to a maximum level in the adult. Immunohistochemical staining was detected in both fibers and immature neurons in embryos but was restrained to neurons in adult tissue. By E17, intense punctate-like structures were visible and these accumulated in cortical primary neurons treated with the autophagosome/lysosome fusion inhibitor Bafilomycin A1 (Baf A1), suggesting that they represent autophagosomes. Finally, GABARAPL1 expression was particularly intense in motoneurons in the embryo and in neurons involved in somatomotor and neuroendocrine functions in the adult, particularly in the substantia nigra pars compacta, a region affected in Parkinson's disease. Our study of cerebral GABARAPL1 protein expression provides insight into its role in the development and homeostasis of the mouse brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaclyn Nicole Le Grand
- Université de Franche-Comté, Laboratoire de Biochimie, EA3922 Estrogènes, Expression Génique et Pathologies du Système Nerveux Central, SFR IBCT FED 4234, U.F.R. Sciences et Techniques, Besançon, Doubs, France
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Bezard E, Yue Z, Kirik D, Spillantini MG. Animal models of Parkinson's disease: limits and relevance to neuroprotection studies. Mov Disord 2012; 28:61-70. [PMID: 22753348 DOI: 10.1002/mds.25108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 143] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2012] [Revised: 05/26/2012] [Accepted: 06/11/2012] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Over the last two decades, significant strides has been made toward acquiring a better knowledge of both the etiology and pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Experimental models are of paramount importance to obtain greater insights into the pathogenesis of the disease. Thus far, neurotoxin-based animal models have been the most popular tools employed to produce selective neuronal death in both in vitro and in vivo systems. These models have been commonly referred to as the pathogenic models. The current trend in modeling PD revolves around what can be called the disease gene-based models or etiologic models. The value of utilizing multiple models with a different mechanism of insult rests on the premise that dopamine-producing neurons die by stereotyped cascades that can be activated by a range of insults, from neurotoxins to downregulation and overexpression of disease-related genes. In this position article, we present the relevance of both pathogenic and etiologic models as well as the concept of clinically relevant designs that, we argue, should be utilized in the preclinical development phase of new neuroprotective therapies before embarking into clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erwan Bezard
- University de Bordeaux, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, Bordeaux, France.
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