title: Cytoprotective effect of acetyl-L-carnitine evidenced by analysis of gene expression in the rat brain.
abstract: Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC), the acetyl ester of L-carnitine, is a naturally occurring substance that when administered at supraphysiological concentrations is neuroprotective. ALC plays an essential role in intermediary and mitochondrial metabolism. It has also neurotrophic and antioxidant actions. ALC has demonstrated efficacy and high tolerability in the treatment of neuropathies of various etiologies, and it is a molecule of considerable interest for its clinical application in various neural disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and painful neuropathies, although little is known regarding the effects of ALC on gene expression. Suppression subtractive hybridization methodology was used for the generation of subtracted complementary DNA libraries and the subsequent identification of differentially expressed transcripts in the rat brain after a chronic ALC treatment. In the present paper, we provide evidences for the up-regulation of the expression of prostaglandin D(2) synthase, brain-specific Na(+)-dependent inorganic phosphate transporter, and cytochrome b oxidase, bc1 complex induced in the rat brain by ALC. On the contrary, ALC treatment down-regulates the expression of the gene of ferritin-H. Altogether, these results suggest that ALC might play a cytoprotective role against various brain stressors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Perugia, 06126, Perugia, Italy. traina@unipg.it
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Traina
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Federighi
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brunelli
authors.forename: Rossana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Scuri
mesh_terms: D000108:Acetylcarnitine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001052:Apoferritins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D045303:Cytochromes b / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D019610:Cytoprotection / Q000187:drug effects*; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects*; D019746:Intramolecular Oxidoreductases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D054834:Lipocalins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D050598:Vesicular Glutamate Transport Protein 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D054834:Lipocalins; D050598:Vesicular Glutamate Transport Protein 1; D000108:Acetylcarnitine; D001052:Apoferritins; D045303:Cytochromes b; D019746:Intramolecular Oxidoreductases; C022466:prostaglandin R2 D-isomerase