Hoffmann, R. A wiki for the life sciences where authorship matters. Nature Genetics (2008)

Editor

Personal info

View

About

Terms

Javascript disabled

Please enable Javascript support in your browser to use this application.

Instructions on how to enable JavaScript on different browsers can be found here: http://www.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=23852.

[edit this page]

Jouvet, P. et al.

Branched chain amino acids induce apoptosis in neural cells without mitochondrial membrane depolarization or cytochrome c release: implications for neurological impairment associated with maple syrup urine disease.

Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) is an inborn error of metabolism caused by a deficiency in branched chain alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase that can result in neurodegenerative sequelae in human infants. In the present study, increased concentrations of MSUD metabolites, in particular alpha-keto isocaproic acid, specifically induced apoptosis in glial and neuronal cells in culture. Apoptosis was associated with a reduction in cell respiration but without impairment of respiratory chain function, without early changes in mitochondrial membrane potential and without cytochrome c release into the cytosol. Significantly, alpha-keto isocaproic acid also triggered neuronal apoptosis in vivo after intracerebral injection into the developing rat brain. These findings suggest that MSUD neurodegeneration may result, at least in part, from an accumulation of branched chain amino acids and their alpha-keto acid derivatives that trigger apoptosis through a cytochrome c-independent pathway.[1]

References

Branched chain amino acids induce apoptosis in neural cells without mitochondrial membrane depolarization or cytochrome c release: implications for neurological impairment associated with maple syrup urine disease. Jouvet, P., Rustin, P., Taylor, D.L., Pocock, J.M., Felderhoff-Mueser, U., Mazarakis, N.D., Sarraf, C., Joashi, U., Kozma, M., Greenwood, K., Edwards, A.D., Mehmet, H. Mol. Biol. Cell (2000) [Pubmed]

Annotations and hyperlinks in this abstract are from individual authors of WikiGenes or automatically generated by the WikiGenes Data Mining Engine. The abstract is from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.About WikiGenes Open Access Licence Privacy Policy Terms of Use apsburg

The world's first wiki where authorship really matters (Nature Genetics, 2008). Due credit and reputation for authors. Imagine a global collaborative knowledge base for original thoughts. Search thousands of articles and collaborate with scientists around the globe.