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Imidazoline Receptors and Human Brain Disorders a
Author(s) -
GARCÍASEVILLA JESÚS A.,
ESCRIBÁ PABLO V.,
GUIMÓN JOSÉ
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1999.tb09388.x
Subject(s) - endocrinology , context (archaeology) , medicine , human brain , pathogenesis , receptor , downregulation and upregulation , neurodegeneration , chemistry , psychiatry , biology , disease , biochemistry , paleontology , gene
Major depression, opioid addiction, neurodegenerative diseases, and glial tumors are associated with disturbances of imidazoline receptors (IR) in the human brain. In depression, the level of a 45‐kD IR protein (putative I 1 ‐IR) is increased in the brain of suicide victims (51%) and in platelets of depressed patients (40%). The density of platelet I 1 ‐IR ([ 125 I]‐ p ‐iodoclonidine binding) is also increased in depression (135%). The 29/30‐kD IR protein (putative I 2B ‐IR) is downregulated (19%) in suicide victims in parallel with a reduction (40%) in the density of I 2B ‐IR ([ 3 H]idazoxan binding). Antidepressant drugs induce downregulation of 45‐kD IR protein and I 1 ‐sites in platelets of depressed patients and upregulation of I 2 ‐sites in rat brain. The densities of I 2B ‐IR and the related 29/30‐kD IR protein are decreased (39% and 28%) in the brain of heroin addicts. The density of I 2B ‐IR is increased in Alzheimer's disease (63%) and decreased in Huntington's disease (56%). Brain I 2B ‐IR is not altered in Parkinson's disease. The level of I 2 ‐IR in glial tumors is increased (two fivefold) in parallel with the abundance of the related 29/30‐kD IR protein (39%), whereas the level of 45‐kD IR protein is decreased (39%). The possible functional relevance of these findings in the context of the pathogenesis of these disorders remains to be elucidated.