Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “NCL”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Diagnoses of neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis by immunochemical methods.

The neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinoses (NCL), also known as Batten disease, are a not uncommon group of disorders affecting infants, children, and young adults. The abnormal ultrastructural profiles seen in NCL are used for standard diagnosis; however, they can be missed, and are also found in other neurodegenerative conditions. Furthermore, there is an overlap between the types of inclusion profiles among the different forms of NCL. Therefore, a more specific and biochemically-based marker is necessary to confirm the diagnosis of NCL. Antibodies raised against the storage material from the ovine form of NCL (mitochondrial ATP synthase subunit c) were utilized to determine whether NCL could be distinguished from other metabolic-neurodegenerative disorders. By immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry, several brain samples of well-evaluated NCL cases confirmed increased accumulations in all NCL cases except in the brain of an infantile-onset NCL patient. The immunoblot studies of skin fibroblasts and brain were sensitive but not highly specific to NCL, due to the recognition of this material in normal controls as well as in other neurogenetic diseases. Immunocytochemistry of skin fibroblasts clearly distinguished LINCL and JNCL cases from controls, and with further refinement has the potential for becoming a diagnostic tool.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Clinicopathological and molecular characterization of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis in the Portuguese population.

A series of 53 Portuguese patients (derived from 43 families) born in the period 1963-1999 have been diagnosed with neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL) based on clinicopathological findings. Plotting the cumulative number of new cases per year against the year of birth resulted in a slightly S-shaped curve, with a nearly straight central segment over a period of 14 years (1977-1990) indicating a continuous registration of new cases born during the corresponding time period. In this period the prevalence of overall NCL in the Portuguese population was calculated to be 1.55 per 100.000 live births.Twenty-six patients from 20 unrelated families were further evaluated by combining clinicopathological with biochemical and genetic data. No intra-familial heterogeneity was observed. Four sub-types of childhood NCL were identified: infantile NCL (INCL) with granular osmiophilic inclusions (GROD) and PPT1 deficiency (1/26), classical LINCL with curvilinear (CV) inclusions and tripeptidyl peptidase (TPP1) deficiency (3/26), variant late infantile NCL (LINCL) with fingerprint/curvilinear (FP/CV) inclusions and normal TPP1 enzyme activity (11/26) and juvenile NCL (JNCL) with a mix of FP/CV (11/26). Eight of 11 JNCL patients were homozygous for the 1.02-kb deletion in the CLN3 gene, and 3 were heterozygous with an unidentified mutation in the second allele. The 1.02-kb deletion in the CLN3 gene accounted for 86.3 % (19/22) of CLN3-causing alleles and 36.5 % (19/52) of childhood NCL defects. The causal mutations for CLN1 and CLN2 were V181M (2/2) and R208X (4/6), respectively. CLN1, CLN2 and CLN3 affected 3.8 %, 11.5 % and 42.3 % of NCL Portuguese patients, respectively. In 42.3 % of patients affected by the vLINCL form, CLN3, CLN5 and CLN8 gene defects were excluded by direct sequencing of cDNA. Genetic variants such as CLN6 might therefore cause a significant portion of childhood NCL in the Portuguese population. The relative frequency of classical childhood forms of NCL in the Portuguese population is reported and contributes to the knowledge of genetic epidemiology of these world-widely distributed disorders.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Raised concentrations of the carboxy terminal propeptide of type IV (basement membrane) procollagen (NC1) in serum and urine of patients with glomerulonephritis.

Type IV collagen is a major component of the glomerular and tubular basement membrane. We used a specific radioimmunoassay to determine (mean +/- SD) the concentration of carboxy terminal non-collagenous fragment (NC1) of type IV procollagen in the serum (normal 6.0 +/- 1.2 ng ml-1) and urine (normal 1.5 +/- 2.0 ng ml-1) of 142 patients with various kidney diseases. The 15 patients with active glomerulonephritis displayed (ANOVA, Scheffé test) significantly elevated NCl values in their serum (14 +/- 8.2 ng ml-1) as compared with the 32 patients with chronic interstitial nephritis (7.8 +/- 3.0 ng ml-1), the 17 patients with various other chronic kidney diseases (8.1 +/- 2.4 ng ml-1) and the 23 ambulatory kidney transplant patients (9.1 +/- 1.7 ng ml-1). The highest serum NCl concentrations were found in nine patients with membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (16 +/- 9.4 ng ml-1). Sequential serum NCl concentrations in the one patient with active Goodpasture's syndrome were marginally elevated (less than 11 ng ml-1). Serum NCl did not increase with acute interstitial rejection episodes in six kidney transplant patients. The highest urinary NCl concentrations were found in seven patients with minimal change glomerulonephritis (7.5 +/- 3.2 ng ml-1). No correlation was found between serum NCl and serum creatinine, NCl and creatinine clearance, or renal NCl clearance and creatinine clearance. There was a significant correlation between serum NCl and proteinuria. Serum and urinary NCl concentrations were elevated independently from renal function, thus indicating intrinsic renal disease.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Thalamic afferents from the brain stem. An experimental study using retrograde single and double labelling with HRP and iron-dextran in the rat. II. Nucleus laterodorsalis and subnucleus compactus nuclei pedunculo-pontini.

The reticulo-thalamic projection arising from the ncl. latero-dorsalis and from the subncl. compactus nuclei pedunculo-pontini was studied in single and double experiments using 51 injections of HRP and/or iron-dextran. The ncl. latero-dorsalis projects to the midline nuclei, to the ncl. mediodorsalis and to the ncl. ventralis lateralis, and, together with the subncl. compactus, also to the anterior, intralaminar nuclei, to the ncl. ventralis basalis and ncll. posteriores. Part of the substantia grisea centralis pontis adjoining the oral pole of the ncl. latero-dorsalis sends out fibres throughout the region of the above listed nuclei while projecting only scantily to the anterior nuclei and to the ventrobasal complex. The projection from the ncl. laterodorsalis has a major contralateral component (about one third of the labelled cells) whereas the contralateral component arising from the subncl. compactus is very scanty. We found no topographic arrangement in the projection (though there were signs of a crude mediolateral organization). The projection, mainly from the ncl. latero-dorsalis, shows relatively dense collateralization (double-labelled cells): ipsi- as well as contralaterally to the intralaminar nuclei, or collaterals to the ipsilateral intralaminary nuclei and, at the same time, to the contralateral ncl. mediodorsalis. A similar, albeit smaller collateralization, was also seen in the ncl. pedunculo-pontinus, its subncl. compactus: ipsilateral collateralization between the anterior and intralaminar nuclei or between the anterior and posterior intralaminar nuclei of the ipsilateral side.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Evidence for lipase abnormality: high levels of free and triacylglycerol forms of unsaturated fatty acids in neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis tissue.

Total lipid obtained from normal and different forms of neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinoses (NCL) tissues was analyzed by high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC). We observed a large (greater than 6-fold) increase in a lipid band corresponding to triolein for NCL dog pancreas and spleen and juvenile human NCL brain and infantile NCL spleen. The accumulation was less pronounced for the brain samples but apart from increased dolichol-monophosphate levels, other lipids appeared normal. Normal dog, goat, or human spleen contained virtually no triacylglycerol, and of the pathological controls, beta-mannosidosis goat spleen showed no triacylglycerol band at all. A sample of human spleen from a patient with lymphoma-associated splenomegaly displayed a strong triacylglycerol band, but gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) of the bands showed an equal increase in both saturated and unsaturated fatty acid containing triacylglycerols in the splenomegaly sample, in keeping with the notion of non-specific fat deposition in damaged tissue. In contrast, in all the NCL samples (spleen, pancreas, and brain) a prominent increase in the proportion of unsaturated fatty acids was observed in both free fatty acid and/or triacylglycerol bands following GC/MS. The NCL-English setter dog pancreas showed a major presence of oleic acid (18:1) (twofold increase) as compared to normal, while dog and infantile human NCL spleen samples and juvenile Batten brain (human) displayed a robust increase in linoleic acid (18:2) and sometimes in oleic acid and arachidonic acid (20:4) (for infantile human NCL spleen). For the infantile human NCL spleen sample an increase in linoleic acid in both free fatty acid (3.2-fold) and triacylglycerol (10-fold) was observed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinoses in Italy: an epidemiological study.

To establish the incidence of neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinoses (NCL) in Italy, we sent a questionnaire to all Neuropediatric and Child Neuropsychiatric Departments (answer rate 15/34 = 44%). Diagnoses were accepted only when based on firm clinical and/or electron microscopic criteria. We collected 58 cases born between 1966-1991 (2 infantile NCL, 37 late infantile NCL, and 19 juvenile NCL). The incidence was calculated only on patients born between 1974-1984. In this period, the incidence of overall NCL in the Italian population was calculated to be 0.56 per 100,000 live births (0.36 for late infantile NCL, and 0.20 for juvenile NCL). Our data show that infantile NCL is very rare in Italy, and that late infantile seems to be the most frequent form of NCL.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Clinical and molecular analysis of Japanese patients with neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis.

Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL) is one of the most common inherited neurological diseases in childhood. It occurs every 12,500 births in northern-European populations. Mental retardation, visual impairment, and seizures are common symptoms. The prevalence of NCL is variable depending upon the races or countries. Although a wealth information is available in Caucasian populations, there is little information about NCL in Asian people. Because a nationwide survey in Japanese patients with NCL has never been performed, we pursued an epidemiological survey. We identified 36 NCL patients in Japan. Patients with infantile, late infantile, juvenile, and adult type accounted for 2, 15, 15, and 4 cases, respectively. Seizures were a major initial symptom in the late infantile type. In the juvenile type, visual failure was present in 73% at onset. Recently, the juvenile NCL (Batten disease) gene has been isolated. Studies of the mutations in this gene demonstrated that a 1.02-kb deletion was the most prevalent mutation among Caucasian patients, accounting for 81% of total alleles. To determine the prevalence of this 1.02-kb deletion in Japanese patients, we performed a rapid allele-specific polymerase chain reaction test. No 1.02-kb major deletion was detected in 5 Japanese juvenile NCL cases. These data suggest that the distribution of NCL and clinical findings are similar to those of Caucasian subjects; however, prevalence of mutations in Japanese patients with NCL would be distinct from that observed in Caucasians.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Suction biopsy of rectal mucosa in the diagnosis of infantile and juvenile types of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses.

Rectal mucosa obtained by suction biopsy from 17 patients with infantile-type neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL) and from 31 patients with juvenile-type NCL was studied histologically and electron microscopically. In specimens from both types of NCL the lamina propria of the mucosa contained abundant large macrophages, demonstrating positive histochemical reactions for ceroid and lipofuscin. On electron microscopy the macrophages were shown to be filled with cytosomes containing the storage material. In infantile NCL the storage material was amorphous and granular, with only occasional short membranous structures. In juvenile NCL the storage material formed approximately equal amounts of curvilinear profiles and fingerprint profiles. Typical inclusions were found in the capillary endothelial cells, Schwann cells, and smooth cells as well as in macrophages in both types of NCL. In two patients juvenile NCL was diagnosed from the biopsy before the appearance of any neurologic symptoms. It is concluded that morphologic investigation of the easily obtained rectal suction biopsy specimen is a reliable diagnostic method in these types of NCL. It is also useful in screening non-symptomatic patients at risk for NCL and in follow-up studies, when necessary.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1992

Neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinoses: the current status.

In view of the epidemiological connotation of childhood neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis (NCL) as one of the most frequent progressive lysosomal diseases and neurodegenerative disorders in children, the recognition of the individual clinical forms of childhood NCL is still based on invasive diagnostic electronmicroscopy which, currently, may be applied also for prenatal diagnosis. Like other inherited disorders, the NCL group has finally also benefited from the genetic breakthroughs of localization of the genes for infantile NCL and juvenile NCL on chromosomes 1 and 16, respectively. This review concerns recent advances in morphological studies, broadening of the clinical spectrum of childhood NCL, new biochemical findings, and preliminary therapeutic results. Hereditary animal models, largely for human juvenile NCL, have been successfully employed in elucidation of the nosology of NCL, but the basic defect in human, canine and ovine NCL remains unknown.

Humans↗
PubMed1990

An ultrastructural study on retinal neural and pigment epithelial cells in ovine neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis.

Ovine neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis represents another well studied model for human neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis (NCL). Accumulation of abnormal lipopigments in various retinal neurons, and loss of photoreceptors are similar to the lesions in human juvenile NCL and indicate that the sheep is a suitable model in which to study the pathogenesis of both NCL lipopigment formation and retinopathia pigmentosa. However, this latter process is not as advanced in NCL-diseased sheep as in human patients but far more obvious than in canine NCL in which retinopathy cannot be unequivocally documented. Ovine NCL shares with canine NCL peculiar lamellar inclusions in retinal pigment epithelial cells which may indicate an impaired catabolism of phagocytosed photoreceptor outer segments. As the peculiar lamellar inclusions seen in RPE cells of both NCL-diseased sheep and dogs do not very much resemble the phagocytosed photoreceptor outer segments, it may be assumed that in NCL the final steps in complete removal of these phagocytosed photoreceptor outer segments are also defective.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Thalamic descendents from anterior and parafascicular nuclei to the brainstem. An experimental study using the HRP technique in the rat.

Method of HRP retrograde transport tracing (injections of 0.1 um 30% HRP, Sigma VI, in 17 rats) helped to prove the existence of a thalamo-raphe projection, part of which is the thalamo-reticular projection for the medial system of reticular formation. This projection takes its origin in the ncl. anteroventralis, ncl. anterodorsalis, ncl. parafascicularis and in the habenular nuclei. Terminations of the axons of those nuclei are situated in the ncl. centralis superior, ncl. raphealis dorsalis, ncl. tegmentalis ventralis et dorsalis Guddeni, substantia grisea centralis pontis, medial part of ncl. pontis oralis, area ventralis tegmenti Tsai and in the ncl. supramamillaris. Habenular nuclei project to the same area and also to the ncl. intercruralis. Thalamic descendents are in their termination field topographically arranged.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Neurochemical evidence for at least two regional subdivisions within the homing pigeon (Columba livia) caudolateral neostriatum.

The distributions of one neurotransmitter, two neurotransmitter-related substances, and five neuropeptides were examined within the homing pigeon caudolateral neostriatum (NCL). All eight neuroactive substances were found within a tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-dense region that defines the NCL. Overall regional variation in the relative density of these substances suggested at least two neurochemically distinct portions of NCL. Dorsal NCL contained relatively dense staining for TH, choline acetyltransferase, and substance P, whereas vasoactive intestinal polypeptide was more abundant in ventral portions of NCL. Serotonin and cholecystokinin were found to be densest in intermediate portions of NCL. Somatostatin and leucine-enkephalin were homogeneously distributed throughout NCL. The results suggest that NCL may consist of multiple subdivisions. Investigations into the behavioral importance of these regions are necessary to clarify the role of this brain region in avian behavior.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Morphometry of nucleoli and expression of nucleolin analyzed by laser scanning cytometry in mitogenically stimulated lymphocytes.

BACKGROUND: Various attributes of nucleoli, including abundance of the nucleolar product (rRNA), correlate with cell-proliferative status and are useful markers for tumor diagnosis and prognosis. However, there is a paucity of methods that can quantitatively probe nucleolus. The aim of the present study was to utilize the morphometric capacity of the laser scanning cytometer (LSC) to analyze nucleoli and measure expression of the nucleolar protein nucleolin (NCL) in individual cells and correlate it with their state of proliferation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Human lymphocytes were mitogenically stimulated, and at different time points their nucleoli were detected immunocytochemically using NCL Ab. The frequency of nucleoli per nucleus, their area, and the level of expression of NCL, separately in the nuclear and nucleolar compartments, were estimated in relation to the G(0) to G(1) transition and the cell cycle progression. RESULTS: During the first 24 h of stimulation, when the cells underwent G(0) to G(1) transition, their RNA content was increased nearly 8-fold, the level of NCL per nucleus also increased 8-fold, the NCL per nucleolus increased 12-fold, nucleolear area increased 3-fold, and NCL/nucleolar area increased nearly 4-fold. During the subsequent 24-48 h of stimulation, when cells were progressing through S, G(2), and M and reentering the next cycle, the number of nucleoli per nucleus was increased and a massive translocation of NCL from nucleoli to nucleoplasm was observed; its overall level per nucleus, however, still remained high, at 6-fold above of that of G(0) cells. CONCLUSIONS: While high expression of NCL in the nucleolar compartment correlates with the rate of rRNA accumulation in the cell and is a sensitive marker of the G(0) to G(1) transition, the cells progressing through the remainder of the cycle are better distinguished from G(0) cells by high overall level of NCL within the nucleus. Such an analysis, when applied to tumors, may be helpful in obtaining the quantitative parameters related to the kinetic status of the tumor-cell population and tumor prognosis. The capability of LSC to measure the protein translocation between nucleolus and nucleoplasm can be used to study the function and regulatory mechanisms of other proteins that reside in these compartments.

Cell Nucleolus↗
PubMed1988

Abnormal cathepsin B activity in Batten disease.

Fibroblasts cultured from patients with various forms of neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis (NCL; Batten disease) showed variably decreasing cathepsin B activity with increasing passage number and months in culture in the presence of fetal calf serum. Cathepsin H activity and that of a wide range of lysosomal hydrolases was unaffected by these conditions. Cathepsin B activity was assayed either colorimetrically (N alpha-benzoyl-DL-Arg-beta-naphthylamide; BANA), fluorimetrically (Z-Arg-Arg-methylcoumarin), or autoradiographically, following NaDodSO4-12.5% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis ([125]Tyr-Ala-Lys-Arg-CH2Cl) and was found to be lysosomal in localization. Fractionation of disrupted fibroblasts on a Percoll gradient showed evidence of abnormally buoyant lysosomes in some NCL patients, and these tended to be low in cathepsin B but rich in other lysosomal hydrolases. Our data do not support a primary defect in cathepsin B as the basic defect in NCL. However, a possible explanation for various studies implicating a protease defect in NCL is that cathepsin B was highly sensitive to inactivation by peroxides and aldehydes. Thus hydrogen peroxide (0.3 mM) or 4-hydroxynonenal (1 nM) inactivated cathepsin B without inhibiting cathepsin H or lysosomal hydrolases such as alpha-L-fucosidase. Since peroxides and 4-hydroxynonenal have been shown to accumulate in NCL tissue (despite apparently normal peroxidase activity), we tested the possibility of a defect in the removal of peroxidized lipids from phospholipids as the primary defect in NCL. The nociceptive peptide bradykinin (BK) normally initiates a cascade involving receptor-mediated phospholipase C activation and release of arachidonate and prostanoids from cultured skin fibroblasts. Release of [3H]arachidonate by BK was deficient in NCL fibroblasts, suggesting that the primary defect in NCL could involve the deficiency of a specific phospholipase A2 activity.

Acid Phosphatase↗
PubMed1992

Perspective of biochemical research in the neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis.

The search for biochemical abnormalities in the neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinoses (NCL) or Batten disease was initiated with the discovery of normal levels of gangliosides in juvenile amaurotic idiocy. The primary goal of most biochemical studies has been to discover the unique biochemical marker for carriers and at-risk individual. Ceroid, the singular pathomorphologic trait of NCL, was isolated and shown to differ from a similar but normal product of aged cells, lipofuscin. In spite of the availability of stored product, the chemical analysis of ceroid has not elucidated the unique biochemical defect in the NCL, as has been the case for other lysosomal storage disorders. The NCL were thought to be a result of lipid peroxidation because ceroid is also found in disorders of impaired vitamin E metabolism or results from a diet deficient in the antioxidant, vitamin E. In addition, tissue analysis indicated losses of polyunsaturated fatty acids in affecteds and carriers, as well as the presence of a secondary product of lipid peroxidation, 4-hydroxynonenal, in affected and carrier NCL dogs. With the exception of a fluorescent compound isolated from retinal ceroid, studies aimed at discovering the disease-specific fluorophores of ceroid have been largely inconclusive. The discovery of elevated dolichols in urine and brain tissue of NCL patients led to another hypothesis, that the basic biochemical defect in NCL involved the metabolism of dolichols and retinoids. However, the more recent view is that dolichol metabolism is secondary to the unknown NCL lesion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Biomarkers↗
PubMed1995

Abnormal acid phosphatases in neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinoses.

Acid phosphatases in brain and cultured lymphoblasts from patients affected with neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinoses (NCL) were studied by starch gel electrophoresis. After electrophoresis the gel was incubated with 4-methyl umbelliferyl phosphate at pH 4.5 and the fluorescent reaction product was visualized under ultraviolet light. Control brain showed a single band with mobility of about 1 cm while NCL patients showed two additional fast moving bands. In the late-infantile, and in the adult form (Kufs disease), the middle band was prominent while the fast moving band was predominant in juvenile NCL. In long-term lymphoblasts, controls showed a single band of acid phosphatase activity while both juvenile and late-infantile NCL showed two additional fast moving bands. Obligate heterozygotes showed reduced levels of the fast moving bands. Fluorometric assay of acid phosphatase using 4-methylumbelliferyl phosphate as substrate showed a 2-fold increase in activity in the patients. The increased acid phosphatase activity is completely inhibited by tartrate. Lymphocyte hexosamnidase activities were unchanged in NCL patients lymphoblasts. Studies on brains of NCL patients and on cultured lymphoblasts from families with late-infantile and juvenile form of NCL showed that abnormal acid phosphatase is characteristic of NCL.

Acid Phosphatase↗
PubMed2002

Functional aspects of dopamine metabolism in the putative prefrontal cortex analogue and striatum of pigeons (Columba livia).

Dopamine (DA) in mammalian associative structures, such as the prefrontal cortex (PFC), plays a prominent role in learning and memory processes, and its homeostasis differs from that of DA in the striatum, a sensorimotor region. The neostriatum caudolaterale (NCL) of birds resembles the mammalian PFC according to connectional, electrophysiological, and behavioral data. In the present study, DA regulation in the associative NCL and the striatal lobus parolfactorius (LPO) of pigeons was compared to uncover possible differences corresponding to those between mammalian PFC and striatum. Extracellular levels of DA and its metabolites (homovanillic acid [HVA], dihydroxyphenylacetic acid [DOPAC]) and the serotonin metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) were investigated by in vivo microdialysis of urethane-anesthetized pigeons under basal conditions and after systemic administration of D-amphetamine. DA was reliably determined only in LPO dialysates, and DA metabolite levels were significantly higher in LPO than in NCL. The HVA/DOPAC ratio, indicating extracellular lifetime of DA, was more than twice as high in NCL than in LPO dialysates. After amphetamine, DA increased in LPO while still being undetectable in NCL, and DA metabolites decreased in both regions. 5-HIAA slightly decreased in NCL dialysates. Amphetamine effects were delayed in NCL compared with the striatum. In conclusion, effects of amphetamine on the pigeon's ascending monoamine systems resemble those found in mammals, suggesting similar regulatory properties. The neurochemical differences between NCL and LPO parallel those between associative regions, such as PFC and dorsal striatum in mammals. They may reflect weaker regulation of extracellular DA, favoring DAergic volume transmission, in associative than striatal forebrain regions.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗
PubMed1995

Sphingolipid activator proteins in the neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinoses: an immunological study.

The molecular defects underlying neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinoses (NCL) are still unknown. However, more data exist on the composition of the hydrophobic storage material characteristic of NCL. Accumulation of subunit c of the mitochondrial ATP synthase has been shown in most forms of human NCL with the exception of the infantile NCL (INCL) for which we have recently demonstrated storage of sphingolipid activator proteins (SAP). In the present study we raised an antiserum against storage cytosomes purified from INCL brain. Using the anti-INCL antiserum and monospecific SAP antisera, we studied storage material isolated from the brains of patients affected with NCL by Western analysis, and found a 12-kDa protein showing a SAP-like immunoreactivity not only in INCL, but also in all the childhood forms of NCL. Furthermore, using the anti-sap-D antiserum for immunohistochemistry, we observed strong immunoreactivity of the storage cytosomes in all major forms of NCL, and also in tissues of non-neuroectodermal origin. From these data we conclude that the presence of SAP within the storage bodies is a phenomenon common to all major forms of human NCL.

Adolescent↗