| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
KOHRIYAMA Tatsuo Hiroshima University Medical Hospital, Assistant Professor, 医学部・附属病院, 講師 (80195693)
YAMAMURA Yasuhiro Hiroshima University Faculty of Medicine, Professor, 医学部, 教授 (10106388)
NAKAMURA Shigenobu Hiroshima University Faculty of Medicine, Professor, 医学部, 教授 (30026843)
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| Research Abstract |
We analyzed the relationship between the polymorphisms of human dopamine transporter (DAT) and the risk of Parkinson's disease. DAT plays the role of reuptake of released dopamine. In the same time, DAT is believed to uptake the environmental toxins into the dopaminergic cells and to proceed the onset and progress of Parkinson's disease. We cloned and determined the structure of the human DAT gene, which is over 50 kb long, consisting of 15 exons. We amplified all coding exons from the DNAs of Parkinson's disease Patients and normal controls, and then found 5 polymorphisms of the DAT gene. Among them, two are in the exons, the others are out of exons. One of the polymorphism in the exon in Parkinson's disease is less than the control. These results suggest the polymorphism of DAT gene affects the onset of Parkinson's disease.
In addition, we cloned and sequenced the human Nurr1 gene, which is approximately 8.3 kb long, consisting of 8 exons and 7 introns. Nurr1 is essential for the development and differentiation of midbrain DA neurons. Further analysis of the polymorphism of the human, Nurr1. gene may reveal the association to diseases characterized by changes of the DA system, such as Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia.
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