University of Tennessee Health Science Center

About: University of Tennessee Health Science Center is a education organization based out in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 15716 authors who have published 26884 publications receiving 1176697 citations.

Mutations in GBA are associated with familial Parkinson disease susceptibility and age at onset

Abstract: Objective: To characterize sequence variation within the glucocerebrosidase ( GBA ) gene in a select subset of our sample of patients with familial Parkinson disease (PD) and then to test in our full sample whether these sequence variants increased the risk for PD and were associated with an earlier onset of disease. Methods: We performed a comprehensive study of all GBA exons in one patient with PD from each of 96 PD families, selected based on the family-specific lod scores at the GBA locus. Identified GBA variants were subsequently screened in all 1325 PD cases from 566 multiplex PD families and in 359 controls. Results: Nine different GBA variants, five previously reported, were identified in 21 of the 96 PD cases sequenced. Screening for these variants in the full sample identified 161 variant carriers (12.2%) in 99 different PD families. An unbiased estimate of the frequency of the five previously reported GBA variants in the familial PD sample was 12.6% and in the control sample was 5.3% (odds ratio 2.6; 95% confidence interval 1.5–4.4). Presence of a GBA variant was associated with an earlier age at onset ( p = 0.0001). On average, those patients carrying a GBA variant had onset with PD 6.04 years earlier than those without a GBA variant. Conclusions: This study suggests that GBA is a susceptibility gene for familial Parkinson disease (PD) and patients with GBA variants have an earlier age at onset than patients with PD without GBA variants.

Structurally similar oxidized phospholipids differentially regulate endothelial binding of monocytes and neutrophils

Abstract: We previously have demonstrated that oxidized 1-palmitoyl-2-arachidonoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine (OxPAPC), a component of minimally modified low density lipoprotein (MM-LDL), activates endothelial cells to bind monocytes. 1-Palmitoyl-2- (5-oxovaleroyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine (POVPC) and 1- palmitoyl-2-glutaroyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine (PGPC), which are present in OxPAPC, MM-LDL, and atherosclerotic lesions, were shown to have a major role in the activation of endothelial cells. We now demonstrate that these two highly similar molecules have dramatically different effects on leukocyte endothelial interactions. POVPC is a potent regulator of monocyte-specific endothelial interactions. Treatment of endothelial cells with POVPC increased monocyte binding by inducing the surface expression of the connecting segment 1 domain of fibronectin; no increase in neutrophil binding was observed. In addition, POVPC strongly inhibited lipopolysaccharide-mediated induction of neutrophil binding and expression of E-selectin protein and mRNA. This inhibition was mediated by a protein kinase A-dependent pathway, resulting in down-regulation of NF-kappaB-dependent transcription. In contrast, PGPC induced both monocyte and neutrophil binding and expression of E-selectin and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1. We present evidence to suggest that the two phospholipids act by different novel receptors present in Xenopus laevis oocytes and that POVPC, but not PGPC, stimulates a cAMP-mediated pathway. At concentrations equal to that present in MM-LDL, the effect of POVPC dominates and inhibits PGPC-induced neutrophil binding and E-selectin expression in endothelial cells. In summary, our data provide evidence that both POVPC and PGPC are important regulators of leukocyte-endothelial interactions and that POVPC may play a dominant role in a number of chronic inflammatory processes where oxidized phospholipids are known to be present.