BACKGROUND Cognitive reserve(CR)and the catechol-O-methyltransferase(COMT)Val/Met polymorphism are reportedly linked to negative symptoms in schizophrenia.However,the regulatory effect of the COMT genotype on the rela...BACKGROUND Cognitive reserve(CR)and the catechol-O-methyltransferase(COMT)Val/Met polymorphism are reportedly linked to negative symptoms in schizophrenia.However,the regulatory effect of the COMT genotype on the relationship between CR and negative symptoms is still unexamined.AIM To investigate whether the relationship between CR and negative symptoms could be regulated by the COMT Val/Met polymorphism.METHODS In a cross-sectional study,54 clinically stable patients with schizophrenia underwent assessments for the COMT genotype,CR,and negative symptoms.CR was estimated using scores in the information and similarities subtests of a short form of the Chinese version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.RESULTS COMT Met-carriers exhibited fewer negative symptoms than Val homozygotes.In the total sample,significant negative correlations were found between negative symptoms and information,similarities.Associations between information,similarities and negative symptoms were observed in Val homozygotes only,with information and similarities showing interaction effects with the COMT genotype in relation to negative symptoms(information,β=-0.282,95%CI:-0.552 to-0.011,P=0.042;similarities,β=-0.250,95%CI:-0.495 to-0.004,P=0.046).CONCLUSION This study provides initial evidence that the association between negative symptoms and CR is under the regulation of the COMT genotype in schizophrenia.展开更多
<strong>Background:</strong> In the treatment of morbid obesity bariatric surgery has become the method of choice. Dopamine is the primary modulator of the brain’s reward system and plays an essential rol...<strong>Background:</strong> In the treatment of morbid obesity bariatric surgery has become the method of choice. Dopamine is the primary modulator of the brain’s reward system and plays an essential role in the regulation of food intake. The role of dopamine is well documented in weight regulation and food intake in both animal models and humans. Still, the role of dopamine has not been well studied for weight loss. Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) degrades catecholamines and estrogens are both known to be important risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and consequently obesity. The gene coding for COMT contains a Val108/158Met polymorphism that exerts a considerable influence on enzymatic activity. We hypothesized that this polymorphism might influence weight loss in obese patients, who previously underwent gastric banding surgery. In obesity research, it is known that women tend to lose more weight than men, and weight before surgery might also affect the outcome of weight loss efforts. Several studies have shown that physical activity (PA) plays an important role in maintaining weight as well as in both non-surgical and surgical weight loss. Therefore, we examined whether gender, age, weight before surgery and PA are good predictor variables for the outcome of surgical weight loss. <strong>Methods:</strong> One to six years after bariatric surgery 74 adults underwent a semi-structured interview. In a second step data on the post-surgical PA level were collected with the Moorehead-Ardelt Quality of Life Questionnaire. Finally, mouth swabs were used for genotyping. <strong>Results:</strong> 54 women and 20 men were enrolled between January 2004 and September 2009. Short-term EWL in the mid-activity genotype dopamine group (GA) was significantly higher (p = 0.007) than was short-term EWL in the low-activity genotype dopamine group (AA) or in the high-activity genotype dopamine group (GG). However, there were no significant differences between the COMT groups with respect to long-term EWL. Long-term we determined that EWL is significantly positively influenced by PA and negatively by gender. The effect of EWL was more pronounced in female than in male subjects. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> Various individual genotypes of the COMT polymorphism (Val108/158Met) make an impact only on short-term EWL, but not on long-term EWL. However, gender and PA proved to be good surgical weight loss predictors for long-term EWL.展开更多
Mammalian catechol-O-methyltransferases(COMT)are an important class of conjugative enzymes,which play a key role in the metabolism and inactivation of catechol neurotransmitters,catechol estrogens and a wide range of ...Mammalian catechol-O-methyltransferases(COMT)are an important class of conjugative enzymes,which play a key role in the metabolism and inactivation of catechol neurotransmitters,catechol estrogens and a wide range of endobiotics and xenobiotics that bear the catechol group.Currently,COMT inhibitors are used in combination with levodopa for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease in clinical practice.The crucial role of COMT in human health has raised great interest in the development of more practical assays for highly selective and sensitive detection of COMT activity in real samples,as well as for rapid screening and characterization of COMT inhibitors as drug candidates.This review summarizes recent advances in analytical methodologies for sensing COMT activity and their applications.Several lists of biochemical assays for measuring COMT activity,including the probe substrates,along with their analytical conditions and kinetic parameters,are presented.Finally,the challenges and future perspectives in the field,such as visualization of COMT activity in vivo and in situ,are highlighted.Collectively,this review article overviews the practical assays for measuring COMT activities in complex biological samples,which will strongly facilitate the investigations on the relevance of COMT to human diseases and promote the discovery of COMT inhibitors via high-throughput screening.展开更多
The cDNA fragment encoding caffeic acid 3_O_methyltransferase (COMT) in Chinese white poplar ( Populus tomentosa Carr.) was isolated and cloned by RT_PCR technique. The size of the cDNA fragment is 1 080 bp, which alm...The cDNA fragment encoding caffeic acid 3_O_methyltransferase (COMT) in Chinese white poplar ( Populus tomentosa Carr.) was isolated and cloned by RT_PCR technique. The size of the cDNA fragment is 1 080 bp, which almost covers the whole cDNA_encoding region. Authors’ cDNA fragment in P. tomentosa shares 98.7% homology with the reported corresponding cDNA in the P. tremuloids at nucleotide level, 99.4% homology at amino acid level, respectively. The analysis of Northern dot hybridization showed that COMT is expressed specifically in the developing secondary xylem of stem during the season of xylem differentiation, which means the linkage between the gene expression for a monolignol biosynthetic enzyme and seasonal regulation of xylem development in woody plant.展开更多
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.81971250 and No.82171501Beijing Hospitals Authority Clinical Medicine Development of Special Funding Support,No.ZLRK202335Early Psychosis Cohort Program of Beijing Anding Hospital,No.ADDL-03.
文摘BACKGROUND Cognitive reserve(CR)and the catechol-O-methyltransferase(COMT)Val/Met polymorphism are reportedly linked to negative symptoms in schizophrenia.However,the regulatory effect of the COMT genotype on the relationship between CR and negative symptoms is still unexamined.AIM To investigate whether the relationship between CR and negative symptoms could be regulated by the COMT Val/Met polymorphism.METHODS In a cross-sectional study,54 clinically stable patients with schizophrenia underwent assessments for the COMT genotype,CR,and negative symptoms.CR was estimated using scores in the information and similarities subtests of a short form of the Chinese version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.RESULTS COMT Met-carriers exhibited fewer negative symptoms than Val homozygotes.In the total sample,significant negative correlations were found between negative symptoms and information,similarities.Associations between information,similarities and negative symptoms were observed in Val homozygotes only,with information and similarities showing interaction effects with the COMT genotype in relation to negative symptoms(information,β=-0.282,95%CI:-0.552 to-0.011,P=0.042;similarities,β=-0.250,95%CI:-0.495 to-0.004,P=0.046).CONCLUSION This study provides initial evidence that the association between negative symptoms and CR is under the regulation of the COMT genotype in schizophrenia.
文摘<strong>Background:</strong> In the treatment of morbid obesity bariatric surgery has become the method of choice. Dopamine is the primary modulator of the brain’s reward system and plays an essential role in the regulation of food intake. The role of dopamine is well documented in weight regulation and food intake in both animal models and humans. Still, the role of dopamine has not been well studied for weight loss. Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) degrades catecholamines and estrogens are both known to be important risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and consequently obesity. The gene coding for COMT contains a Val108/158Met polymorphism that exerts a considerable influence on enzymatic activity. We hypothesized that this polymorphism might influence weight loss in obese patients, who previously underwent gastric banding surgery. In obesity research, it is known that women tend to lose more weight than men, and weight before surgery might also affect the outcome of weight loss efforts. Several studies have shown that physical activity (PA) plays an important role in maintaining weight as well as in both non-surgical and surgical weight loss. Therefore, we examined whether gender, age, weight before surgery and PA are good predictor variables for the outcome of surgical weight loss. <strong>Methods:</strong> One to six years after bariatric surgery 74 adults underwent a semi-structured interview. In a second step data on the post-surgical PA level were collected with the Moorehead-Ardelt Quality of Life Questionnaire. Finally, mouth swabs were used for genotyping. <strong>Results:</strong> 54 women and 20 men were enrolled between January 2004 and September 2009. Short-term EWL in the mid-activity genotype dopamine group (GA) was significantly higher (p = 0.007) than was short-term EWL in the low-activity genotype dopamine group (AA) or in the high-activity genotype dopamine group (GG). However, there were no significant differences between the COMT groups with respect to long-term EWL. Long-term we determined that EWL is significantly positively influenced by PA and negatively by gender. The effect of EWL was more pronounced in female than in male subjects. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> Various individual genotypes of the COMT polymorphism (Val108/158Met) make an impact only on short-term EWL, but not on long-term EWL. However, gender and PA proved to be good surgical weight loss predictors for long-term EWL.
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2017YFC1700200,2017YFC1702000),the National Natural Science Foundation of China(81922070,81703604,81973286,81773687 and 81603187)Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai(18ZR1436500)+3 种基金Program of Shanghai Academic/Technology Research Leader(18XD1403600)Shuguang Program(18SG40)supported by Shanghai Education Development Foundation and Shanghai Municipal Education Commissionthe project sponsored by the development fund for Shanghai talents(2019)the Key Science and Technology Program of Shenyang supported by Shenyang Science and Technology Bureau(17-230-9-05).
文摘Mammalian catechol-O-methyltransferases(COMT)are an important class of conjugative enzymes,which play a key role in the metabolism and inactivation of catechol neurotransmitters,catechol estrogens and a wide range of endobiotics and xenobiotics that bear the catechol group.Currently,COMT inhibitors are used in combination with levodopa for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease in clinical practice.The crucial role of COMT in human health has raised great interest in the development of more practical assays for highly selective and sensitive detection of COMT activity in real samples,as well as for rapid screening and characterization of COMT inhibitors as drug candidates.This review summarizes recent advances in analytical methodologies for sensing COMT activity and their applications.Several lists of biochemical assays for measuring COMT activity,including the probe substrates,along with their analytical conditions and kinetic parameters,are presented.Finally,the challenges and future perspectives in the field,such as visualization of COMT activity in vivo and in situ,are highlighted.Collectively,this review article overviews the practical assays for measuring COMT activities in complex biological samples,which will strongly facilitate the investigations on the relevance of COMT to human diseases and promote the discovery of COMT inhibitors via high-throughput screening.
文摘The cDNA fragment encoding caffeic acid 3_O_methyltransferase (COMT) in Chinese white poplar ( Populus tomentosa Carr.) was isolated and cloned by RT_PCR technique. The size of the cDNA fragment is 1 080 bp, which almost covers the whole cDNA_encoding region. Authors’ cDNA fragment in P. tomentosa shares 98.7% homology with the reported corresponding cDNA in the P. tremuloids at nucleotide level, 99.4% homology at amino acid level, respectively. The analysis of Northern dot hybridization showed that COMT is expressed specifically in the developing secondary xylem of stem during the season of xylem differentiation, which means the linkage between the gene expression for a monolignol biosynthetic enzyme and seasonal regulation of xylem development in woody plant.
