DJ-1 was first identified as an activated ras-dependent oncogene product and was later also found to be an infertility-related protein affected by sperm toxicants such as ornidazole (OR) and epichlorohydrin. These findings suggest that DJ-1 has functions in both somatic cells and sperm. In this study, to determine the relationship between DJ-1 and an endocrine disrupter and to determine the fun...

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by loss of neurons in the substantia nigra that project to the striatum and release dopamine. The cause of PD remains uncertain, however, evidence implicates mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress. Although most cases of PD are sporadic, 5-10% of cases are caused by inherited mutations. Loss-of-function mu...

DJ-1, the causative gene of a familial form of Parkinson's disease (PD), has been reported undergo oxidation preferentially at the 106th cysteine residue (Cys-106) under oxidative stress. Recently, it has been found that the levels of oxidized DJ-1 in erythrocytes of unmedicated PD patients are markedly higher than those in medicated PD patients and healthy subjects. In the present study, we ex...

Human DJ-1 is a genetic cause of early-onset Parkinson's disease (PD), although its biochemical function is unknown. We report here that human DJ-1 and its homologs of the mouse and Caenorhabditis elegans are novel types of glyoxalase, converting glyoxal or methylglyoxal to glycolic or lactic acid, respectively, in the absence of glutathione. Purified DJ-1 proteins exhibit typical Michaelis-Men...

The oxidation-sensitive chaperone protein DJ-1 has been implicated in several human disorders including cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. During neurodegeneration associated with protein misfolding, such as that observed in Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease (HD), both oxidative stress and protein chaperones have been shown to modulate disease pathways. Therefore, we set out to i...

Please note: Changes made as a result of publishing processes such as copy-editing, formatting and page numbers may not be reflected in this version. For the definitive version of this publication, please refer to the published source. You are advised to consult the publisher's version if you wish to cite this paper. Purpose The theory of Double Jeopardy (DJ) is shown to hold across broad rangi...

BACKGROUND Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative pathology whose molecular etiopathogenesis is not known. Novel contributions have come from familial forms of PD caused by alterations in genes with apparently unrelated physiological functions. The gene coding for alpha-synuclein (alpha-syn) (PARK1) has been investigated as alpha-syn is located in Lewy bodies (LB), intraneuronal inclus...

BACKGROUND The histological grade is the gold standard for the evaluation of prognosis of astrocytic tumors. Nevertheless, morphologic criteria are not always accurate prognostic indicators. AIM The research investigates the expression of MIB-1 and DJ-1 in different grades of astrocytomas and evaluates the possible prognostic role of DJ-1 in these tumors in relation to other prognostic parame...

OBJECTIVE The goal of the current investigation was to explore whether salivary DJ-1 could be a potential biomarker for monitoring disease progression in Parkinson's disease (PD) by evaluating the association between salivary DJ-1 concentrations and nigrostriatal dopaminergic function. METHODS First, in 74 patients with PD and 12 age-matched normal controls, single photon emission computed to...

Double J (DJ) stents provide efficient upper urinary system drainage in patients with ureteral obstruction [1]. Long-term indwelling DJ stents may be complicated by encrustation and stone formation. Patients should have their DJ stents replaced every three months [2]. Plain abdominal radiography and computed tomography are the imaging methods of choice in these patients for making a diagnosis a...