scholarly journals Low plasma serotonin linked to higher nigral iron in Parkinson’s disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie C. Jellen ◽  
Mechelle M. Lewis ◽  
Guangwei Du ◽  
Xi Wang ◽  
Martha L. Escobar Galvis ◽  
...  

AbstractA growing body of evidence suggests nigral iron accumulation plays an important role in the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease (PD), contributing to dopaminergic neuron loss in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). Converging evidence suggests this accumulation might be related to, or increased by, serotonergic dysfunction, a common, often early feature of the disease. We investigated whether lower plasma serotonin in PD is associated with higher nigral iron. We obtained plasma samples from 97 PD patients and 89 controls and MRI scans from a sub-cohort (62 PD, 70 controls). We measured serotonin concentrations using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography and regional iron content using MRI-based quantitative susceptibility mapping. PD patients had lower plasma serotonin (p < 0.0001) and higher nigral iron content (SNc: p < 0.001) overall. Exclusively in PD, lower plasma serotonin was correlated with higher nigral iron (SNc: r(58) =  − 0.501, p < 0.001). This correlation was significant even in patients newly diagnosed (< 1 year) and stronger in the SNc than any other region examined. This study reveals an early, linear association between low serotonin and higher nigral iron in PD patients, which is absent in controls. This is consistent with a serotonin-iron relationship in the disease process, warranting further studies to determine its cause and directionality.

Diagnostics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 402
Author(s):  
Sabyasachi Chakraborty ◽  
Satyabrata Aich ◽  
Hee-Cheol Kim

Parkinson’s Disease is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the aging population and is caused by a progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). With the onset of the disease, the patients suffer from mobility disorders such as tremors, bradykinesia, impairment of posture and balance, etc., and it progressively worsens in the due course of time. Additionally, as there is an exponential growth of the aging population in the world the number of people suffering from Parkinson’s Disease is increasing and it levies a huge economic burden on governments. However, until now no therapeutic method has been discovered for completely eradicating the disease from a person’s body after it’s onset. Therefore, the early detection of Parkinson’s Disease is of paramount importance to tackle the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in patients to serve them with a better life. In this study, 3T T1-weighted MRI scans were acquired from the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) database of 406 subjects from baseline visit, where 203 were healthy and 203 were suffering from Parkinson’s Disease. Following data pre-processing, a 3D convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture was developed for learning the intricate patterns in the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans for the detection of Parkinson’s Disease. In the end, it was observed that the developed 3D CNN model performed superiorly by completely aligning with the hypothesis of the study and plotted an overall accuracy of 95.29%, average recall of 0.943, average precision of 0.927, average specificity of 0.9430, f1-score of 0.936, and Receiver Operating Characteristic—Area Under Curve (ROC-AUC) score of 0.98 for both the classes respectively.


2008 ◽  
Vol 413 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip A. Robinson

Parkinson's disease (PD), the second most common age-related neurodegenerative disease, results in abnormalities in motor functioning. Many fundamental questions regarding its aetiology remain unanswered. Pathologically, it is not until 70–80% of the dopaminergic neurons from the substantia nigra pars compacta are lost before clinical symptoms are observed. Thus research into PD is complicated by this apparent paradox in that what appears to be the beginning of the disease at the clinical level is really the end point neurochemically. Consequently, we can only second guess when the disease started and what initiated it. The causation is probably complex, with contributions from both genetic and environmental factors. Intracellular proteinaceous inclusions, Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites, found in surviving dopaminergic neurons, are the key pathological characteristic of PD. Their presence points to an inability within these terminally differentiated cells to deal with aggregating proteins. Recent advances in our knowledge of the underlying disease process have come about from studies on models based on genes associated with rare hereditary forms of PD, and mitochondrial toxins that mimic the behavioural effects of PD. The reason that dopaminergic neurons are particularly sensitive may be due to the additional cellular stress caused by the breakdown of the inherently chemically unstable neurotransmitter, dopamine. In the present review, I discuss the proposal that in sporadic disease, interlinked problems of protein processing and inappropriate mitochondrial activity seed the foundation for age-related increased levels of protein damage, and a reduced ability to deal with the damage, leading to inclusion formation and, ultimately, cell toxicity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 728 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhou Zhu ◽  
Chuanbin Yang ◽  
Ashok Iyaswamy ◽  
Senthilkumar Krishnamoorthi ◽  
Sravan Gopalkrishnashetty Sreenivasmurthy ◽  
...  

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway plays a critical role in regulating cell growth, proliferation, and life span. mTOR signaling is a central regulator of autophagy by modulating multiple aspects of the autophagy process, such as initiation, process, and termination through controlling the activity of the unc51-like kinase 1 (ULK1) complex and vacuolar protein sorting 34 (VPS34) complex, and the intracellular distribution of TFEB/TFE3 and proto-lysosome tubule reformation. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a serious, common neurodegenerative disease characterized by dopaminergic neuron loss in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) and the accumulation of Lewy bodies. An increasing amount of evidence indicates that mTOR and autophagy are critical for the pathogenesis of PD. In this review, we will summarize recent advances regarding the roles of mTOR and autophagy in PD pathogenesis and treatment. Further characterizing the dysregulation of mTOR pathway and the clinical translation of mTOR modulators in PD may offer exciting new avenues for future drug development.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Najim Uddin ◽  
Mohammad Injamul Hoq ◽  
Israt Jahan ◽  
Shafayet Ahmed Siddiqui ◽  
Chayan Dhar Clinton ◽  
...  

: Thymoquinone (TQ) is one of the leading phytochemicals, which is abundantly found in Nigella sativa L. seeds. TQ exhibited various biological effects such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anti-tumoral in several pre-clinical studies. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a long-term neurodegenerative disease with movement difficulties, and the common feature of neurodegeneration in PD patients is caused by dopaminergic neural damage in the substantia nigra pars compacta. The neuroprotective activity of TQ has been studied in various neurological disorders. TQ-mediated neuroprotection against PD yet to be reported in a single frame; therefore, this review is intended to narrate the potentiality of TQ in the therapy of PD. TQ has been shown to protect against neurotoxins via amelioration of neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis, thereby protects neurodegeneration in PD models. TQ could be an emerging therapeutic intervention in PD management, but mechanistic studies have been remained to be investigated to clarify its neuroprotective role.


2015 ◽  
Vol 73 (7) ◽  
pp. 616-623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taysa Bervian Bassani ◽  
Maria A.B.F. Vital ◽  
Laryssa K. Rauh

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease affecting approximately 1.6% of the population over 60 years old. The cardinal motor symptoms are the result of progressive degeneration of substantia nigra pars compacta dopaminergic neurons which are involved in the fine motor control. Currently, there is no cure for this pathology and the cause of the neurodegeneration remains unknown. Several studies suggest the involvement of neuroinflammation in the pathophysiology of PD as well as a protective effect of anti-inflammatory drugs both in animal models and epidemiological studies, although there are controversial reports. In this review, we address evidences of involvement of inflammatory process and possible therapeutic usefulness of anti-inflammatory drugs in PD.


Author(s):  
Melissa Conti Mazza ◽  
Victoria Nguyen ◽  
Alexandra Beilina ◽  
Jinhui Ding ◽  
Mark R. Cookson

AbstractCoding mutations in the LRRK2 gene, encoding for a large protein kinase, have been shown to cause familial Parkinson’s disease (PD). The immediate biological consequence of LRRK2 mutations is to increase kinase activity, leading to the suggestion that inhibition of this enzyme might be useful therapeutically to slow disease progression. Genome-wide association studies have identified the chromosomal loci around LRRK2 and one of its proposed substrates, RAB29, as contributors towards the lifetime risk of sporadic PD. Considering the evidence for interactions between LRRK2 and RAB29 on the genetic and protein levels, here we generated a double knockout mouse model and determined whether there are any consequences on brain function with aging. From a battery of motor and non-motor behavioral tests, we noted only that 18-24 month Rab29-/- and double (Lrrk2-/-/Rab29-/-) knockout mice had diminished locomotor behavior in open field compared to wildtype mice. However, no genotype differences were seen in number of substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) dopamine neurons or in tyrosine hydroxylase levels in the SNc and striatum, which might reflect a PD-like pathology. These results suggest that depletion of both Lrrk2 and Rab29 is tolerated, at least in mice, and support that this pathway might be able to be safely targeted for therapeutics in humans.Significance statementGenetic variation in LRRK2 that result in elevated kinase activity can cause Parkinson’s disease (PD), suggesting LRRK2 inhibition as a therapeutic strategy. RAB29, a substrate of LRRK2, has also been associated with increased PD risk. Evidence exists for an interactive relationship between LRRK2 and RAB29. Mouse models lacking either LRRK2 or RAB29 do not show brain pathologies. We hypothesized that the loss of both targets would result in additive effects across in vivo and post-mortem assessments in aging mice. We found that loss of both LRRK2 and RAB29 did not result in significant behavioral deficits or dopamine neuron loss. This evidence suggests that chronic inhibition of this pathway should be tolerated clinically.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett Fulleylove-Krause ◽  
Samantha Sison ◽  
Allison Ebert

Abstract Objectives: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder caused by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Although the underlying mechanisms of dopaminergic neuron loss is not fully understood, evidence suggests mitochondrial malfunction as a key contributor to disease pathogenesis. We previously found that human PD patient stem cell-derived dopaminergic neurons exhibit reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) levels and reduce activity of sirtuins, a group of NAD+-dependent deacetylase enzymes that participate in the regulation of mitochondrial function, energy production, and cell survival. Thus, here we tested whether treatment of PD stem cell-derived dopaminergic neurons with nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), an NAD+ precursor, could increase NAD+ levels and improve sirtuin activity. Results: We treated PD iPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons with NMN and found that NAD+ levels did increase. The deacetylase activity of sirtuin (SIRT) 2 was improved with NMN treatment, but NMN had no impact on deacetylase activity of SIRT 1 or 3. These results suggest that NMN can restore NAD+ levels and SIRT 2 activity, but that additional mechanisms are involved SIRT 1 and 3 dysregulation in PD dopaminergic neurons.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsin H.K. Roshan ◽  
Amos Tambo ◽  
Nikolai P. Pace

Parkinson’s disease [PD] is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer’s disease, affecting 1% of the population over the age of 55. The underlying neuropathology seen in PD is characterised by progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta with the presence of Lewy bodies. The Lewy bodies are composed of aggregates of α-synuclein. The motor manifestations of PD include a resting tremor, bradykinesia, and muscle rigidity. Currently there is no cure for PD and motor symptoms are treated with a number of drugs including levodopa [L-dopa]. These drugs do not delay progression of the disease and often provide only temporary relief. Their use is often accompanied by severe adverse effects. Emerging evidence from bothin vivoandin vitrostudies suggests that caffeine may reduce parkinsonian motor symptoms by antagonising the adenosine A2Areceptor, which is predominately expressed in the basal ganglia. It is hypothesised that caffeine may increase the excitatory activity in local areas by inhibiting the astrocytic inflammatory processes but evidence remains inconclusive. In addition, the co-administration of caffeine with currently available PD drugs helps to reduce drug tolerance, suggesting that caffeine may be used as an adjuvant in treating PD. In conclusion, caffeine may have a wide range of therapeutic effects which are yet to be explored, and therefore warrants further investigation in randomized clinical trials.


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