The primary cause of the disease is still unknown, but mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress have been implicated in the neurodegenerative process. Oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (OGG1) removes oxidized guanine (8-oxo-G) from the DNA,

thus reducing the mutagenic potential of this modified base. Increased 8-oxo-G levels and up-regulation of OGG1 have been detected in the SN of PD brains. Moreover, studies performed in OGG1 knockout mice revealed the importance of this AG-014699 price enzyme in protecting dopaminergic neurons against the accumulation of oxidative DNA damage. A common Ser326Cys polymorphism is known in the human gene encoding OGG1 (hOGG1), and the mutant Cys326 variant has been associated with reduced glycosylase activity. In the present study we screened 139 sporadic PD patients and 211 healthy matched controls for the presence of the hOGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphism. Forskolin order The Cys326 allele frequency was similar between the groups (0.20 in PD patients and 0.19 in controls; p = 0.817), and no difference in genotype frequencies was observed. Moreover, the hOGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphism was not

associated with disease age at onset (p = 0.791). Overall, present results suggest that the hOGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphism is not associated with sporadic PD. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“There are currently no published data documenting the presence of retroviruses in cetaceans, though the occurrences of cancers and immunodeficiency states suggest the potential. We examined tissues from adult killer whales and detected a novel gammaretrovirus by degenerate PCR. Reverse transcription-PCR also demonstrated tissue and serum expression of retroviral mRNA. The full-length sequence of the provirus was obtained by PCR, and a TaqMan-based copy number assay did not demonstrate evidence of productive infection. PCR on blood samples from 11 healthy captive killer whales PLEKHO1 and tissues from

3 free-ranging animals detected the proviral DNA in all tissues examined from all animals. A survey of multiple cetacean species by PCR for gag, pol, and env sequences showed homologs of this virus in the DNA of eight species of delphinids, pygmy and dwarf sperm whales, and harbor porpoises, but not in beluga or fin whales. Analysis of the bottlenose dolphin genome revealed two full-length proviral sequences with 97.4% and 96.9% nucleotide identity to the killer whale gammaretrovirus. The results of single-cell PCR on killer whale sperm and Southern blotting are also consistent with the conclusion that the provirus is endogenous. We suggest that this gammaretrovirus entered the delphinoid ancestor’s genome before the divergence of modern dolphins or that an exogenous variant existed following divergence that was ultimately endogenized.