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      The Anti-Apoptotic Role of Neuroglobin

      review-article
      Cells
      MDPI
      apoptosis, neuroglobin, neurons

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          Abstract

          The small heme-protein neuroglobin is expressed at high concentrations in certain brain neurons and in the rod cells of the retina. This paper reviews the many studies which have recently identified a protective role for neuroglobin, in a wide range of situations involving apoptotic cell death. The origins of this protective mechanism are discussed in terms of both experimental results and computational modeling of the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis, which shows that neuroglobin can intervene in this process by a reaction with released mitochondrial cytochrome c. An integrated model, based on the various molecular actions of both neuroglobin and cytochrome c, is developed, which accounts for the cellular distribution of neuroglobin.

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          Most cited references160

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          The mitochondrial permeability transition pore and its role in cell death.

          M Crompton (1999)
          This article reviews the involvement of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore in necrotic and apoptotic cell death. The pore is formed from a complex of the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC), the adenine nucleotide translocase and cyclophilin-D (CyP-D) at contact sites between the mitochondrial outer and inner membranes. In vitro, under pseudopathological conditions of oxidative stress, relatively high Ca2+ and low ATP, the complex flickers into an open-pore state allowing free diffusion of low-Mr solutes across the inner membrane. These conditions correspond to those that unfold during tissue ischaemia and reperfusion, suggesting that pore opening may be an important factor in the pathogenesis of necrotic cell death following ischaemia/reperfusion. Evidence that the pore does open during ischaemia/reperfusion is discussed. There are also strong indications that the VDAC-adenine nucleotide translocase-CyP-D complex can recruit a number of other proteins, including Bax, and that the complex is utilized in some capacity during apoptosis. The apoptotic pathway is amplified by the release of apoptogenic proteins from the mitochondrial intermembrane space, including cytochrome c, apoptosis-inducing factor and some procaspases. Current evidence that the pore complex is involved in outer-membrane rupture and release of these proteins during programmed cell death is reviewed, along with indications that transient pore opening may provoke 'accidental' apoptosis.
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            Estrogen actions in the brain and the basis for differential action in men and women: a case for sex-specific medicines.

            The classic view of estrogen actions in the brain was confined to regulation of ovulation and reproductive behavior in the female of all mammalian species studied, including humans. Burgeoning evidence now documents profound effects of estrogens on learning, memory, and mood as well as neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative processes. Most data derive from studies in females, but there is mounting recognition that estrogens play important roles in the male brain, where they can be generated from circulating testosterone by local aromatase enzymes or synthesized de novo by neurons and glia. Estrogen-based therapy therefore holds considerable promise for brain disorders that affect both men and women. However, as investigations are beginning to consider the role of estrogens in the male brain more carefully, it emerges that they have different, even opposite, effects as well as similar effects in male and female brains. This review focuses on these differences, including sex dimorphisms in the ability of estradiol to influence synaptic plasticity, neurotransmission, neurodegeneration, and cognition, which, we argue, are due in a large part to sex differences in the organization of the underlying circuitry. There are notable sex differences in the incidence and manifestations of virtually all central nervous system disorders, including neurodegenerative disease (Parkinson's and Alzheimer's), drug abuse, anxiety, and depression. Understanding the cellular and molecular basis of sex differences in brain physiology and responses to estrogen and estrogen mimics is, therefore, vitally important for understanding the nature and origins of sex-specific pathological conditions and for designing novel hormone-based therapeutic agents that will have optimal effectiveness in men or women.
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              Hormonal carcinogenesis.

              Hormone-related cancers, namely breast, endometrium, ovary, prostate, testis, thyroid and osteosarcoma, share a unique mechanism of carcinogenesis. Endogenous and exogenous hormones drive cell proliferation, and thus the opportunity for the accumulation of random genetic errors. The emergence of a malignant phenotype depends on a series of somatic mutations that occur during cell division, but the specific genes involved in progression of hormone-related cancers are currently unknown. In this review, the epidemiology of endometrial cancer and breast cancer are used to illustrate the paradigms of hormonal carcinogenesis. Then, new strategies for early detection and prevention of hormonal carcinogenesis are discussed. This includes developing polygenic models of cancer predisposition and the further development of safe and effective chemopreventives that block target sequence activity. We developed polygenic models for breast and prostate cancer after hypothesizing that functionally relevant sequence variants in genes involved in steroid hormone metabolism and transport would act together, and also interact with well-known hormonally related risk factors, to define a high-risk profile for cancer. A combination of genes each with minor variation in expressed activity could provide a degree of separation of risk that would be clinically useful as they could yield a large cumulative difference after several decades. The genes included in the breast cancer model are the 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 (HSD17B1) gene, the cytochrome P459c17alpha (CYP17) gene, the aromatase (CYP19) gene, and the estrogen receptor alpha (ER) gene. The prostate cancer model includes the androgen receptor gene (AR), steroid 5alpha-reductase type II (SRD5A2), CYP17 and the 3beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (HSD3B2) gene. We present data from our multi-ethnic cohort to support these models.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Cells
                Cells
                cells
                Cells
                MDPI
                2073-4409
                23 November 2012
                December 2012
                : 1
                : 4
                : 1133-1155
                Affiliations
                School of Biological Sciences, Centre for Brain Research, University of Auckland, 3a Symonds Street, Auckland,1142, New Zealand; Email: T.Britain@ 123456auckland.ac.nz ; Tel.: +64-9-373-7599; Fax: +64-9-373-7414
                Article
                cells-01-01133
                10.3390/cells1041133
                3901133
                24710547
                1f8b9c12-cc75-4f91-a7eb-dec51d5d0e02
                © 2012 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

                This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).

                History
                : 29 October 2012
                : 15 November 2012
                : 21 November 2012
                Categories
                Review

                apoptosis,neuroglobin,neurons
                apoptosis, neuroglobin, neurons

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