ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is an autosomal, dominantly inherited neurocutaneous syndrome characterized by a wide range of neurological abnormalities, tumors of different organs, and variable clinical symtomatology and severity. TSC is caused by mutations in either of two tumor suppressor genes: TSC1 or TSC2. The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical picture of TSC in patients with an identical TSC2 mutation. We tried to discover to what extent we may expect variability in the clinical set of symptoms in patients with identical mutation of TSC2 gene. MATERIAL/METHODS: Mutations were identified in 100 of 170 cases. There were only 4 patients with the same type of TSC2 mutation: 5238-5255 del 18bp, del 1746 HIKRLR. Their ages were 1.5, 9, 9, and 10 years. A standardized clinical assessment of TSC symptoms was used. RESULTS: Epilepsy, depigmented spots, and periventricular calcification and cortical tubers were diagnosed in all the 4 patients, cardiac rhabdomyoma and angiomyolipoma of the kidneys in 3, and mental retardation and forehead fibroma in 2. Other symptoms occurred rarely or were absent. There was variability in TSC symptoms in patients with the identical type of TSC2 mutation. The main symptoms were present in all or in the majority of patients. Clinical picture also differed with the age of patient. CONCLUSIONS: There are many influencing factors contributing to the diversity of the clinical picture and pathology of TSC. Obviously, a greater number of cases are needed for further analysis and more precise conclusions.
Subject(s)
Mutation , Repressor Proteins/genetics , Tuberous Sclerosis/diagnosis , Tuberous Sclerosis/genetics , Tumor Suppressor Proteins/genetics , Child , Epilepsy/genetics , Female , Humans , Infant , Male , Phenotype , Pigmentation Disorders/genetics , Sequence Deletion , Tuberous Sclerosis/etiology , Tuberous Sclerosis Complex 2 ProteinABSTRACT
In the present study, we investigated the [(3)H]citalopram binding using a quantitative autoradiography following intracerebroventricular injection of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT) in neonatal and adult male Wistar rats. One group of animals was injected with 5,7-DHT at 3 days after birth while the second group received the neurotoxin at 3 months after birth. Control group was injected with saline. Afterwards, all rats were examined at 4(th) months after birth to determine the serotonin (5-HT) and catecholamines concentrations using the liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection HPLC system and distribution and density of [(3)H]citalopram binding sites in the brain using the quantitative autoradiography. A marked depletion of brain 5-HT was observed in rats lesioned either in postnatal or adult period of life. Rats lesioned in their adult period of life showed dramatic reduction of 5-HT transporter in all investigated brain areas (i.e.the frontal cortex, entorhinal cortex, hippocampus, caudate-putamen, nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area). On the other hand, administration of 5,7-DHT to newborn rats failed to reduce 5-HT transporter sites in the ventral tegmental area, and produced only slight or moderate reduction in the nucleus accumbens. Thus, it appears that the mesolimbic ventral tegmental area-nucleus accumbens systems are relatively more resistant to 5,7-DHT neurotoxicity in the early postnatal period.
Subject(s)
5,7-Dihydroxytryptamine/pharmacology , Brain/drug effects , Membrane Glycoproteins/metabolism , Membrane Transport Proteins/metabolism , Nerve Tissue Proteins/metabolism , Serotonin Agents/pharmacology , Aging/physiology , Animals , Animals, Newborn , Brain/metabolism , Carrier Proteins/physiology , Corpus Striatum/metabolism , Female , Frontal Lobe/metabolism , Hippocampus/metabolism , Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid/metabolism , Male , Rats , Rats, Wistar , Receptors, Drug/physiology , Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport ProteinsABSTRACT
The influence of pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced kindling of seizures on the rat emotional behavior, the brain monoamine turnover rate measured in vitro, and correlation between behavioral and biochemical parameters, were examined in rats. The repeated administration of PTZ (35 mg/kg, ip) evoked kindled seizures in rats (Stage 4 or 5 of clonic-tonic convulsions-maximum). PTZ kindling caused selective changes in the rat emotional behavior, present in some models of anxiety only (a decreased freezing time in the conditioned freezing test and a decreased spontaneous and aversively conditioned ultrasonic vocalization). Simultaneously, PTZ kindling decreased the concentration of homovanillic acid (HVA) and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in the prefrontal cortex, decreased the DA (HVA/DA ratio) turnover rate in the striatum, and inhibited the serotonin (5-HT) metabolism (5-HIAA/5-HT ratio) in the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex. Correlations between dopamine (DA) or 5-HT regional metabolic rates in brain structures and animal behavior were either abolished or reversed in PTZ-kindled animals. It is concluded that both DA and 5-HT systems contribute to the emotional effects of PTZ-induced kindling of seizures. The hypothesis is put forward that PTZ kindling-induced inhibition of the serotonergic innervation may lead to the compensatory increase in 5-HT(1A) receptors in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, thus evoking the anxiolytic-like changes in animal behavior.
