PMID- 17105935
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20070110
LR  - 20220310
IS  - 0077-8923 (Print)
IS  - 0077-8923 (Linking)
VI  - 1074
DP  - 2006 Aug
TI  - MDMA induces caspase-3 activation in the limbic system but not in striatum.
PG  - 377-81
AB  - Several studies, carried out in chronic (+/-) 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine 
      (MDMA) abusers, have shown memory loss and cognitive impairment, as well as 
      persistent electroencephalographic changes. This suggests that, at least in 
      humans, forebrain areas, including the limbic system, might be altered by MDMA. 
      Consistently, recent experimental evidences suggest that, in rodents, MDMA, 
      besides effects on the basal ganglia, produces alterations in the hippocampus. 
      Therefore, the aim of the present article was to investigate whether treatment 
      with MDMA produces activation of the caspase-3 enzyme, which is part of an 
      enzymatic pathway involved in cell death, within limbic areas (i.e., hippocampus, 
      amygdala, and piriform cortex) and striatum. A marked induction of caspase-3 
      activity was demonstrated in the amygdala and hippocampus, although MDMA did not 
      affect caspase-3 activity neither in the striatum nor in the frontal cortex. 
      These data indicate that limbic structures possess a high sensitivity to MDMA 
      with respect to the activation of at least one step in the apoptotic pathway. 
      Potential implications and pitfalls of such an experimental observation are 
      reported.
FAU - Tamburini, Ilaria
AU  - Tamburini I
AD  - Department of Human Morphology and Applied Biology, Univerity of Pisa, Via Roma 
      55, 56126 Pisa, Italy.
FAU - Blandini, Fabio
AU  - Blandini F
FAU - Gesi, Marco
AU  - Gesi M
FAU - Frenzilli, Giada
AU  - Frenzilli G
FAU - Nigro, Marco
AU  - Nigro M
FAU - Giusiani, Mario
AU  - Giusiani M
FAU - Paparelli, Antonio
AU  - Paparelli A
FAU - Fornai, Francesco
AU  - Fornai F
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - United States
TA  - Ann N Y Acad Sci
JT  - Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
JID - 7506858
RN  - EC 3.4.22.- (Caspase 3)
RN  - KE1SEN21RM (N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine)
SB  - IM
MH  - Animals
MH  - Caspase 3/*metabolism
MH  - Corpus Striatum/*metabolism
MH  - Enzyme Activation
MH  - Limbic System/*metabolism
MH  - Male
MH  - Mice
MH  - Mice, Inbred C57BL
MH  - N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine/*pharmacology
EDAT- 2006/11/16 09:00
MHDA- 2007/01/11 09:00
CRDT- 2006/11/16 09:00
PHST- 2006/11/16 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2007/01/11 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2006/11/16 09:00 [entrez]
AID - 1074/1/377 [pii]
AID - 10.1196/annals.1369.037 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2006 Aug;1074:377-81. doi: 10.1196/annals.1369.037.