Recent progress in the applications of presynaptic dopaminergic positron emission tomography imaging in parkinsonism.

Nowadays, presynaptic dopaminergic positron emission tomography, which assesses deficiencies in dopamine synthesis, storage, and transport, is widely utilized for early diagnosis and differential diagnosis of parkinsonism. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the latest developments in the application of presynaptic dopaminergic positron emission tomography imaging in disorders that manifest parkinsonism. We conducted a thorough literature search using reputable databases such as PubMed and Web of Science. Selection criteria involved identifying peer-reviewed articles published within the last 5 years, with emphasis on their relevance to clinical applications. The findings from these studies highlight that presynaptic dopaminergic positron emission tomography has demonstrated potential not only in diagnosing and differentiating various Parkinsonian conditions but also in assessing disease severity and predicting prognosis. Moreover, when employed in conjunction with other imaging modalities and advanced analytical methods, presynaptic dopaminergic positron emission tomography has been validated as a reliable in vivo biomarker. This validation extends to screening and exploring potential neuropathological mechanisms associated with dopaminergic depletion. In summary, the insights gained from interpreting these studies are crucial for enhancing the effectiveness of preclinical investigations and clinical trials, ultimately advancing toward the goals of neuroregeneration in parkinsonian disorders.

18 F-Florzolotau Positron Emission Tomography Imaging of Tau Pathology in the Living Brains of Patients with Corticobasal Syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Recent development in tau-sensitive tracers has sparkled significant interest in tracking tauopathies using positron emission tomography (PET) biomarkers. However, the ability of 18 F-florzolotau PET imaging to topographically characterize tau pathology in corticobasal syndrome (CBS) remains unclear. Further, the question as to whether disease-level differences exist with other neurodegenerative tauopathies is still unanswered. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the topographical patterns of tau pathology in the living brains of patients with CBS using 18 F-florzolotau PET imaging and to examine whether differences with other tauopathies exist. METHODS: 18 F-florzolotau PET imaging was performed in 20 consecutive patients with CBS, 20 cognitively healthy controls (HCs), 20 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and 16 patients with progressive supranuclear palsy-Richardson's syndrome (PSP-RS). Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of ß-amyloid biomarkers were quantified in all patients with CBS. 18 F-florzolotau uptake was quantitatively assessed using standardized uptake value ratios. RESULTS: Of the 20 patients with CBS, 19 (95%) were negative for CSF biomarkers of amyloid pathology; of them, three had negative 18 F-florzolotau PET findings. Compared with HCs, patients with CBS showed increased 18 F-florzolotau signals in both cortical and subcortical regions. In addition, patients with CBS were characterized by higher tracer retentions in subcortical regions compared with those with AD and showed a trend toward higher signals in cortical areas compared with PSP-RS. An asymmetric pattern of 18 F-florzolotau uptake was associated with an asymmetry of motor severity in patients with CBS. CONCLUSIONS: In vivo 18 F-florzolotau PET imaging holds promise for distinguishing CBS in the spectrum of neurodegenerative tauopathies. © 2023 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

PDQ-8: A Simplified and Effective Tool Measuring Life Quality in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy.

BACKGROUND: The self-reported quality of life (QoL) should be carefully listened to in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) from the patient-centered perspective. However, there was still a lack of short QoL measurement tool in atypical parkinsonism. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to test whether the short Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-8 (PDQ-8) was effective in assessing QoL in PSP, comparing with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Quality of Life Scale (PSP-QoL) and Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39). METHODS: 132 patients with clinical diagnosed PSP, including PSP-Richardson syndrome (RS) subtype (n = 71) and PSP-non-RS subtype (n = 61) were recruited for clinical evaluation including QoL assessment. The detailed QoL profiles and possibility of using PDQ-8 were systemically analyzed. The determinants to the QoL were then calculated by multivariate linear regression analysis. RESULTS: The PSP-QoL total score summary index (SI) was 22.8 (10.1, 41.1), while the PDQ-8 and PDQ-39 total SI score were 28.1 (12.5, 46.9) and 29.5 (15.4, 49.4). Mobility, activities of daily life, cognition and communication were the main affected QoL subdomains (median SI: 40.0, 31.3, 25.0 and 25.0 respectively). PSP-RS subtype showed more severe damage physically (p<0.001) and mentally (p = 0.002) compared to other subtypes. More importantly, the strong relevance of PDQ-8 and recommended PSP QoL tools were confirmed (p<0.001). In addition, disease severity, depression and daytime sleepiness were proved to be critical determinants for QoL in PSP. CONCLUSIONS: PDQ-8 could be an easy, reliable, and valid tool to evaluate QoL in patients with PSP. Besides motor symptoms, more attention should be paid to non-motor impairment such as depression in PSP.

Downregulation of m6A Reader YTHDC2 Promotes the Proliferation and Migration of Malignant Lung Cells via CYLD/NF-κB Pathway.

Lung cancer is one of the most common types of carcinoma worldwide. Cigarette smoking is considered the leading cause of lung cancer. Aberrant expression of several YT521-B homology (YTH) family proteins has been reported to be closely associated with multiple cancer types. The present study aims to evaluate the function and regulatory mechanisms of the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) reader protein YTH domain containing 2 (YTHDC2) by in vitro, in vivo and bioinformatics analyses. The results revealed that YTHDC2 was reduced in lung cancer and cigarette smoke-exposed cells. Notably, bioinformatics and tissue arrays analysis demonstrated that decreased YTHDC2 was highly associated with smoking history, pathological stage, invasion depth, lymph node metastasis and poor outcomes. The in vivo and in vitro studies revealed that YTHDC2 overexpression inhibited the proliferation and migration of lung cancer cells as well as tumor growth in nude mice. Furthermore, YTHDC2 decreased expression was modulated by copy number deletion in lung cancer. Importantly, the cylindromatosis (CYLD)/NF-κB pathways were confirmed as the downstream signaling of YTHDC2, and this axis was mediated by m6A modification. The present results indicated that smoking-related downregulation of YTHDC2 was associated with enhanced proliferation and migration in lung cancer cells, and appeared to be regulated by DNA copy number variation. Importantly, YTHDC2 functions as a tumor suppressor through the CYLD/NF-κB signaling pathway, which is mediated by m6A modification.

miR­200b upregulation promotes migration of BEAS­2B cells following long­term exposure to cigarette smoke by targeting ETS1.

Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of all histological types of lung cancer, and the role that microRNAs (miRNAs) serve in its pathogenesis is being increasingly recognized. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of miR­200b on migration in cigarette smoke­induced malignant transformed cells. In the present study, miR­200b expression was found to be increased in cigarette smoke (CS)­exposed BEAS­2B cells, lung cancer cell lines and tumor tissue samples. Using wound healing and Transwell migration assays, the migratory ability was shown to be increased in miR­200b­overexpressing cells, whereas miR­200b knockdown resulted in reduced migration. Additionally, the expression of E­Cadherin was downregulated, whereas that of N­Cadherin was upregulated in miR­200b mimic­transfected cells, suggesting an increase in epithelial­mesenchymal transition. Downstream, using four target gene prediction tools, six target genes of miR­200b were predicted, amongst which, ETS proto­oncogene 1 transcription factor (ETS1) was shown to be significantly associated with tumor invasion depth and negatively associated with miR­200b expression. The interaction between miR­200b and ETS1 was confirmed using a dual­luciferase reporter assay. Using rescue experiments, the increased migratory ability of the miR­200b­overexpressing cells was reversed by ETS1 overexpression. In summary, this study showed that miR­200b overexpression serves a carcinogenic role and promotes the migration of BEAS­2B cells following long­term exposure to CS by targeting ETS1.