Referenced in: none

Automatically associated channels: Kir2.1 , Kir2.2 , Kir2.3 , Kir2.4 , Kir6.2

Title: Verification of expressions of Kir2 as potential peripheral biomarkers in lymphocytes from patients with Parkinson's disease.

Authors: Ya-Xing Gui, Ying Wan, Qin Xiao, Ying Wang, Gang Wang, Sheng-Di Chen

Journal, date & volume: Neurosci. Lett., 2011 Nov 14 , 505, 104-8

PubMed link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22001575

Abstract
Prior studies have reported gene expression alterations in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) obtained from patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) as compared to healthy controls. These alterations can not only be regarded as potential biomarkers, but also enhance understanding of the pathogenic mechanism of PD. In the present study, the gene expression levels of dopamine receptor (D2, D3), inward rectified potassium channels subunits Kir2 (Kir2.1, Kir2.2, Kir2.3, Kir2.4) and ATP-sensitive potassium channel subunit Kir6.2 in PBLs were analyzed using quantitative real-time PCR among 20 PD patients with medication, 10 PD patients without medication and 16 healthy controls, respectively. The results showed that there was a significantly decrease of the D2, D3 mRNA expression in PBLs of PD patients compared with that in healthy controls. The four inward rectified potassium channels Kir2.1, Kir2.2, Kir2.3, and Kir2.4 mRNA expression in PBLs from PD patients were also significantly down-regulated than that from age-matched healthy controls. However, there was no apparent difference in expression of another potassium channel Kir6.2 mRNA between PD patients and healthy controls. We proposed that the Kir2 potassium channels mRNA on blood lymphocytes may be regarded as a potential biomarker for PD screening.