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Biotech / Medical : Ligand (LGND) Breakout! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Miljenko Zuanic who wrote (12832)	12/24/1997 3:24:00 AM
From: Andrew H	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 32384

Henry and MZ, could you guys please explain in relatively simple English what's going on in this article. I have reprinted a quote from the abstract below. It appears that retinoids may affect the expression of genes involved in the proper functioning of the CNS. Does this mean that some of LGND's drugs may ultimately be effective in treating Parkinson's and other CNS diseases? Is this discovery connected to LGND? Might CNS diseases become a target of their work? Thanks for the translation, guys. And thanks for the url, MZ. >>Dopamine is a neuromodulator involved in the control of key physiological functions. Dopamine-dependent signal transduction is activated through the interaction with membrane receptors of the seven-transmembrane domain G protein-coupled family. Among them, dopamine D2 receptor is highly expressed in the striatum and the pituitary gland as well as by mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons. Lack of D2 receptors in mice leads to a locomotor parkinsonian-like phenotype and to pituitary tumors. The D2 receptor promoter has characteristics of a housekeeping gene. However, the restricted expression of this gene to particular neurons and cells points to a strict regulation of its expression by cell-specific transcription factors. We demonstrate here that the D2 receptor promoter contains a functional retinoic acid response element. Furthermore, analysis of retinoic acid receptor-null mice supports our finding and shows that in these animals D2 receptor expression is reduced. This finding assigns to retinoids an important role in the control of gene expression in the central nervous system. << Once again, happy holidays to all and a special thanks to Henry for his tireless labors at Lake LGND!!