多巴胺代谢系统基因多态性与帕金森病

帕金森病(PD)是人类常见的神经系统退行性疾病之一,其病因和发病机制尚不清楚,可能是遗传和环境等多种因素共同作用的结果。PD以运动减少、肌强直、静止性震颤及姿势障碍为主要症状,其病理特征主要是黑质多巴胺能神经元选择性死亡,多巴胺是纹状体的抑制性神经递质,而乙酰胆碱是兴奋性神经递质,两种神经递质在正常情况下是处于一种动态平衡状态,当多巴胺减少时,乙酰胆碱的作用相对增强,继而进入一种失衡状态,引起临床症状。因此,人们越来越重视多巴胺代谢酶基因研究。多巴胺代谢系统基因包括单胺氧化酶基因、儿茶酚氧位甲基转移酶、多巴胺突触前膜转运体、多巴胺受体基因、多巴胺β羟化酶、酪氨酸羟化酶。近年来,多巴胺代谢系统基因多态性与PD遗传易感性的相关性成为研究的热点,为明确PD的病因带来了希望。     

肠道菌群对代谢相关性脂肪肝的影响及运动干预研究进展

大量研究表明,肠道菌群与神经退行性疾病和代谢性疾病等多种疾病的发生和发展息息相关,菌群的种类和数量会受到遗传、饮食习惯、运动等因素的影响。在代谢相关脂肪性肝病中,肠道菌群的部分代谢物通过增加肝脏脂肪变性、改变肠道黏膜通透性等方式对疾病的发展起到促进作用,菌群的种类和数量变化与病情进展的关系也被广泛研究,但是两者发生的先后顺序仍不十分明确。运动可以增加肠道有益菌群的种类和数量,同时改善高脂饮食导致的肠道菌群紊乱,并有效缓解代谢相关脂肪性肝病的病情,肠道菌群也能对机体的运动能力产生影响,但运动是如何通过肠道菌群来改善代谢相关脂肪性肝病的机制尚不十分明确。本文通过综述三者的相互关系来阐述肠道菌群和运动在代谢相关脂肪性肝病中发挥的重要作用。     

多巴胺能神经系统对睡眠-觉醒和认知的调控作用

人的精神活动高级而又复杂,至今仍是未解之谜。目前研究认为多巴胺作为脑内重要神经递质,参与调节人的精神活动和运动功能,尤其在睡眠的主动性神经调节过程,以及学习记忆等认知功能的神经环路中,多巴胺都发挥着不可替代的作用。本文将通过对多巴胺神经系统,睡眠,认知功能的概述,以及通过对多巴胺神经系统与睡眠-觉醒系统和认知功能的解剖学联系的简述,结合多巴胺神经元、多巴胺受体及多巴胺转运体等不同角度分别阐述其对睡眠-觉醒和认知功能的调控作用,以期揭开人类精神活动的产生机制的一层面纱,以及对多巴胺药物对神经退行性变疾病的治疗靶点提供一定的理论支持。     

靶向脑衰老胶质细胞的运动防治PD研究进展

细胞衰老是一个体内平衡的生物过程,在推动机体衰老过程中起着关键作用。衰老细胞在神经系统中随着衰老和神经退行性疾病而积累,并且可能使人易患神经退行性疾病或加重其病程。帕金森病(Parkinson's disease,PD)是一种与年龄相关的神经退行性疾病。运动可通过提高衰老过程中脑细胞自噬水平,增强神经免疫信号分子以及脑内脑源性神经营养因子(brain-derived neurotrophic factor,BDNF)的表达有效预防或延缓脑细胞衰老甚至清除脑衰老细胞,维持脑健康。大量流行病学调查结果以及临床和基础研究证实,不同形式的运动锻炼/身体活动均可改善PD患者或者PD模型动物的症状或改善症状的发展。本文以脑衰老胶质细胞为切入点,充分阐明脑衰老胶质细胞在PD中的作用以及运动干预对PD脑衰老胶质细胞的影响,以便有效和安全地利用脑衰老胶质细胞作为潜在的治疗靶点,以期为运动干预减缓(和)或改善PD运动功能障碍的神经生物学机制研究提供新的思路,为探寻PD的非药物防治或辅助疗法提供理论基础。     

动物模型在神经退行性疾病中的应用

神经退行性疾病的主要临床症状表现为记忆丧失、认知障碍、运动能力丧失和感觉缺失等。随着人口老龄化的加剧,神经退行性疾病的发病率也逐渐上升。目前,人们对这类疾病的认知尚浅,因此,对应的治疗和干预方法也很紧缺。动物模型在神经退行性疾病中的广泛应用为我们提供了良好的实验材料,为研究发病机制及治疗方式提供了重要平台。该文总结了在阿尔兹海默症、帕金森症、亨廷顿病以及肌萎缩侧索硬化症这四种常见神经退行性疾病的相关研究中成功构建的动物模型,涉及动物包括秀丽隐杆线虫、黑腹果蝇、斑马鱼、啮齿类动物、小型猪和非人灵长类动物。     

雷特综合征与多巴胺系统功能障碍

雷特综合征(Rett syndrome)属于神经发育障碍类疾病,主要由X性染色体上mecp2基因突变所致,患者多数为女孩。临床症状于出生后6~18个月逐渐显现,主要表现为头部发育缓慢,已获得的语言及手部目的性运动技能消退,智力障碍,呼吸功能障碍及自闭倾向等。多巴胺系统的功能包括运动调节、奖赏学习、情感、内分泌调控以及药物成瘾等多个方面。由于多巴胺系统在运动和精神方面与雷特综合征部分临床症状存在表面相关性,早期有学者根据临床特征提出雷特综合征患者可能存在多巴胺系统功能障碍,但两者之间是否具有实质性的内在联系以及mecp2基因是否会通过影响多巴胺系统导致相关临床症状是目前雷特综合征研究的一个热点。本文将针对雷特综合征与多巴胺系统功能障碍的相关研究进展作一综述。     

运动防治糖尿病的研究进展

糖尿病已成为严重影响人类健康的重大疾病之一,我国糖尿病患病率居全球首位。目前除药物治疗方案外,运动疗法受到普遍关注。2007年美国运动医学会推出"运动是良医(Exercise is medicine)"项目,旨在通过科学合理的运动手段,预防和治疗包括糖尿病在内的慢性代谢性疾病。临床应用中,运动也是防治糖尿病的重要手段之一。大量研究表明,适度运动对改善机体物质代谢尤其是糖脂代谢具有重要作用。通过制定个性化的运动处方,可充分调动机体对运动的良好生理适应,改善胰岛素抵抗,防治糖尿病。主要介绍了运动在防治糖尿病应用中的现状和发展趋势,并为糖尿病患者制定科学合理的运动处方提供参考。     

帕金森病与氧化应激

帕金森病是人类常见的一种中枢神经系统退行性变化疾病,它的病理变化主要为黑质内多巴胺能神经元的退变和消失。ＤＡ能经元的退行性变可能与氧化应激,氧自由基的形成及神经毒素等有关。抗氧化治疗及神经保护治疗已成为目前治疗ＰＤ的重要手段并在实验及临床中取得了一定成效。     

硒蛋白与神经退行性疾病

硒蛋白是一类含有硒代半胱氨酸的蛋白质,以硒元素为活性中心,利用其强还原性参与多种生物代谢过程中的氧化还原反应。目前在人体中已发现的硒蛋白有25种,其中部分硒蛋白的生理功能尚不明确。脑组织是硒蛋白分布最为丰富的人体器官之一,采用基因敲除的方法研究硒蛋白的生理功能,发现多种硒蛋白缺失都能引起小鼠认知能力损伤或运动功能障碍。由于脑组织代谢过程中会产生大量的活性氧(reactive oxygen species,ROS),其产生的氧化压力被认为是神经退行性疾病产生和发展的重要诱因之一,而清除活性氧是某些硒蛋白的主要生理功能,因此硒蛋白在神经退行性疾病中的作用受到了越来越多的关注。综述了硒蛋白的生理功能,及其与多种神经退行性疾病的联系,以期为硒蛋白在治疗神经退行性疾病中的应用提供参考。     

基于神经炎症的神经退行性疾病模型及中药治疗策略

神经退行性疾病严重威胁着人们的健康。炎症在神经退行性疾病的发生与发展中始终扮演着重要角色,其主要特征是小胶质细胞的激活和炎性因子的水平升高。本文综述了神经炎症与多种退行性疾病的关系和体内外模型,并结合中医对"脑病"的认识,总结多种中药提取物及其单体化合物阻止小胶质细胞活化、抑制神经炎症的药理作用和机制,为逐步揭示中医治疗脑病"证-方-药"的相关规律、特征,提高临床用药的准确性和开发防治脑病的新药物提供基础。     

Cytoplasmic dynein: a key player in neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental diseases

Cytoplasmic dynein is the most important molecular motor driving the movement of a wide range of cargoes towards the minus ends of microtubules.As a molecular motor protein,dynein performs a variety of basic cellular functions including organelle transport and centrosome assembly.In the nervous system,dynein has been demonstrated to be responsible for axonal retrograde transport.Many studies have revealed direct or indirect evidence of dynein in neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease,Alzheimer’s disease,Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease.Among them,a number of mutant proteins involved in various neurodegenerative diseases interact with dynein.Axonal transport disruption is presented as a common feature occurring in neurodegenerative diseases.Dynein heavy chain mutant mice also show features of neurodegenerative diseases.Moreover,defects of dynein-dependent processes such as autophagy or clearance of aggregation-prone proteins are found in most of these diseases.Lines of evidence have also shown that dynein is associated with neurodevelopmental diseases.In this review,we focus on dynein involvement in different neurological diseases and discuss potential underlying mechanisms.     

多巴胺神经系统显像分子探针研究

多巴胺神经系统在神经退行性疾病和精神紊乱中充当了主要角色,比如帕金森病、亨廷顿病、迟发性运动障碍、精神分裂症。以多巴胺能神经系统为靶点的PET显像可以了解多巴胺合成、受体密度和状态改变,为神经系统疾病的早期诊断、疗效监测、发病机制以及脑认知功能的研究等方面提供客观、科学的观察手段。本文综述了以多巴胺受体、多巴胺转运体及囊泡单胺转运体为靶点的PET显像剂的研究进展。     

Does Huntingtin play a role in selective macroautophagy?

The accumulation of protein aggregates in neurons appears to be a basic feature of neurodegenerative disease. In huntington disease (HD), a progressive and ultimately fatal neurodegenerative disorder caused by an expansion of the polyglutamine repeat within the protein huntingtin (Htt), the immediate proximal cause of disease is well understood. However, the cellular mechanisms which modulate the rate at which fragments of Htt containing polyglutamine accumulate in neurons is a central issue in the development of approaches to modulate the rate and extent of neuronal loss in this disease. We have recently found that Htt is phosphorylated by the kinase IKK on serine (s) 13, activating its phosphorylation on S16 and its acetylation and poly-SUMOylation, modifications that modulate its clearance by the proteasome and lysosome in cells.¹ In the discussion here I suggest that Htt may have a normal function in the lysosomal mechanism of selective macroautophagy involved in its own degradation which may share some similarity with the yeast cytoplasm to vacuole targeting (Cvt) pathway. Pharmacologic activation of this pathway may be useful early in disease progression to treat HD and other neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the accumulation of disease proteins.Key words: Huntington disease, Huntingtin, polyglutamine, autophagy, IKKAn age-related reduction in protein clearance mechanisms has been implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases including the polyglutamine (polyQ) repeat diseases, Alzheimer disease (AD), Parkinson disease (PD) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). These diseases are each associated with the accumulation of insoluble protein aggregates in diseased neurons. Huntington Disease (HD), caused by an expansion of the polyQ repeat in the protein Huntingtin (Htt), is one such disease of aging in which mutant Htt inclusions form in striatal and cortical neurons as disease progresses. Clarification of the mechanisms of Htt clearance is paramount to finding therapeutic targets to treat HD that may be broadly useful in the treatment of these currently incurable neurodegenerative diseases.     

Role of BDNF in Central Motor Structures and Motor Diseases

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), belonging to the neurotrophic family of growth factors, has a widespread distribution in the central and peripheral nervous systems. In central motor structures including the motor cortex, cerebellum, basal ganglia, and spinal cord, BDNF exerts both neurotrophic and direct electrophysiological effects via a high-affinity tyrosine receptor kinase B receptor and a common low-affinity p75 neurotrophin receptor. The underlying signaling pathways mainly involve mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway, and phospholipase C-γ pathway. The loss of BDNF usually leads to neurodegeneration in these motor centers and eventually results in several severe motor diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, spinocerebellar ataxias, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, as well as vestibular syndrome. In this review, we summarize the recent understanding of functions of BDNF in motor structures and suggest that BDNF may be a potent candidate for the treatment of these neurodegenerative motor diseases.     

Epigenetic Modulation in Parkinson’s Disease and Potential Treatment Therapies

In the recent past, huge emphasis has been given to the epigenetic alterations of the genes responsible for the cause of neurological disorders. Earlier, the scientists believed somatic changes and modifications in the genetic makeup of DNA to be the main cause of the neurodegenerative diseases. With the increase in understanding of the neural network and associated diseases, it was observed that alterations in the gene expression were not always originated by the change in the genetic sequence. For this reason, extensive research has been conducted to understand the role of epigenetics in the pathophysiology of several neurological disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and, Huntington’s disease. In a healthy person, the epigenetic modifications play a crucial role in maintaining the homeostasis of a cell by either up-regulating or down-regulating the genes. Therefore, improved understanding of these modifications may provide better insight about the diseases and may serve as potential therapeutic targets for their treatment. The present review describes various epigenetic modifications involved in the pathology of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) backed by multiple researches carried out to study the gene expression regulation related to the epigenetic alterations. Additionally, we will briefly go through the current scenario about the various treatment therapies including small molecules and multiple phytochemicals potent enough to reverse these alterations and the future directions for a better management of PD.

     

Autophagy of Mitochondria: A Promising Therapeutic Target for Neurodegenerative Disease

The autophagic process is the only known mechanism for mitochondrial turnover and it has been speculated that dysfunction of autophagy may result in mitochondrial error and cellular stress. Emerging investigations have provided new understanding of how autophagy of mitochondria (also known as mitophagy) is associated with cellular oxidative stress and its impact on neurodegeneration. This impaired autophagic function may be considered as a possible mechanism in the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Huntington disease. It can be suggested that autophagy dysfunction along with oxidative stress is considered main events in neurodegenerative disorders. New therapeutic approaches have now begun to target mitochondria as a potential drug target. This review discusses evidence supporting the notion that oxidative stress and autophagy are intimately associated with neurodegenerative disease pathogenesis. This review also explores new approaches that can prevent mitochondrial dysfunction, improve neurodegenerative etiology, and also offer possible cures to the aforementioned neurodegenerative diseases.     

Oxidative stress and neurodegeneration: the involvement of iron

Many evidences indicate that oxidative stress plays a significant role in a variety of human disease states, including neurodegenerative diseases. Iron is an essential metal for almost all living organisms due to its involvement in a large number of iron-containing proteins and enzymes, though it could be also toxic. Actually, free iron excess generates oxidative stress, particularly in brain, where anti-oxidative defences are relatively low. Its accumulation in specific regions is associated with pathogenesis in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases (i.e., Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s chorea, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation). Anyway, the extent of toxicity is dictated, in part, by the localization of the iron complex within the cell (cytosolic, lysosomal and mitochondrial), its biochemical form, i.e., ferritin or hemosiderin, as well as the ability of the cell to prevent the generation and propagation of free radical by the wide range of antioxidants and cytoprotective enzymes in the cell. Particularly, ferrous iron can act as a catalyst in the Fenton reaction that potentiates oxygen toxicity by generating a wide range of free radical species, including hydroxyl radicals (·OH). The observation that patients with neurodegenerative diseases show a dramatic increase in their brain iron content, correlated with the production of reactive oxigen species in these areas of the brain, conceivably suggests that disturbances in brain iron homeostasis may contribute to the pathogenesis of these disorders. The aim of this review is to describe the chemical features of iron in human beings and iron induced toxicity in neurodegenerative diseases. Furthermore, the attention is focused on metal chelating drugs therapeutic strategies.     

Mitochondria and Neurodegeneration

Many lines of evidence suggest that mitochondria have a central role in ageing-related neurodegenerative diseases. However, despite the evidence of morphological, biochemical and molecular abnormalities in mitochondria in various tissues of patients with neurodegenerative disorders, the question “is mitochondrial dysfunction a necessary step in neurodegeneration?” is still unanswered. In this review, we highlight some of the major neurodegenerative disorders (Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Huntington’s disease) and discuss the role of the mitochondria in the pathogenetic cascade leading to neurodegeneration.