Sarcosine Overview

Impact of Sarcosine on Schizophrenia Treatment

This research examines the effect of sarcosine (N-methylglycine) on schizophrenia when added to antipsychotic treatment. Sarcosine, as a glycine transporter-1 inhibitor, was found to significantly improve symptoms in schizophrenic patients on stable antipsychotic regimens, supporting the NMDA receptor hypofunction hypothesis in schizophrenia.

Role of Sarcosine in Cognitive Impairment and Pain Mitigation

Studies indicate that glycine transporters (GlyTs) regulate glycine concentration at synapses, impacting synaptic transmission and related human diseases. Selective inhibitors of GlyTs, including sarcosine, may have therapeutic potential for cognitive impairments and conditions like schizophrenia and pain.

Sarcosine as a Mitigating Agent for Toluene's Negative Effects

Research demonstrates that sarcosine can counteract behavioral and physiological disturbances caused by toluene, a commonly abused solvent, without affecting its enhanced reward function. This positions sarcosine as a potential treatment for acute toluene intoxication effects.

Sarcosine's Role in Prostate Cancer

Sarcosine levels increase in prostate cancer cells, and the amino acid has been investigated as a potential urine biomarker for prostate cancer. Moreover, sarcosine may contribute to the progression of prostate cancer by upregulating HER2/neu.

Therapeutic Potential of Sarcosine in Drug Development

The review article suggests the need for new drug development approaches for schizophrenia, with a focus on negative symptoms and cognitive impairments. Glycine transporter-1, targeted by sarcosine, is identified as a potential therapeutic target.

Conclusion

Sarcosine shows promise across multiple studies as a beneficial adjunct to antipsychotic medications in treating schizophrenia, a potential mitigating agent for toluene intoxication, and a marker for prostate cancer progression. Its role as a co-agonist at the NMDA receptor and as a glycine transporter inhibitor highlights its potential for therapeutic applications.

References:

1. Glycine transporter I inhibitor, N-methylglycine (sarcosine), added to antipsychotics for the treatment of schizophrenia
2. Glycine transporters: essential regulators of neurotransmission
3. Sarcosine attenuates toluene-induced motor incoordination, memory impairment, and hypothermia but not brain stimulation reward enhancement in mice
4. Competing methyltransferase systems
5. Regional distribution and developmental variation of the glycine transporters GLYT1 and GLYT2 in the rat CNS
6. Glycine N-methyltransferase is a folate binding protein of rat liver cytosol
7. Two glycine transporter variants with distinct localization in the CNS and peripheral tissues are encoded by a common gene
8. The pipeline and future of drug development in schizophrenia
9. Alterations in expression and methylation of specific genes in livers of rats fed a cancer promoting methyl-deficient diet
10. Efficacy and tolerance of D-cycloserine in drug-free schizophrenic patients
11. Human breast cancer: correlation of relapse and survival with amplification of the HER-2/neu oncogene
12. A reproducible and high-throughput HPLC/MS method to separate sarcosine from α- and β-alanine and to quantify sarcosine in human serum and urine
13. Effect of sarcosine on antioxidant parameters and metallothionein content in the PC-3 prostate cancer cell line
14. Hepatic glycine N-methyltransferase is up-regulated by excess dietary methionine in rats
15. Sarcosine induces increase in HER2/neu expression in androgen-dependent prostate cancer cells
16. The glycine transport inhibitor sarcosine is an inhibitory glycine receptor agonist
17. Cloning and expression of a glycine transporter reveal colocalization with NMDA receptors
18. GLYX-13: a monoclonal antibody-derived peptide that acts as an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor modulator
19. Glycine and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors: physiological significance and possible therapeutic applications
20. Calcium influx through N-methyl-D-aspartate channels activates a potassium current in postnatal rat hippocampal neurons
21. The glycine transport inhibitor sarcosine is an NMDA receptor co-agonist that differs from glycine
22. Glycine transport inhibitors for the treatment of schizophrenia
23. Molecular cloning and tissue distribution of rat sarcosine dehydrogenase
24. The NMDA receptor glycine modulatory site: a therapeutic target for improving cognition and reducing negative symptoms in schizophrenia
25. The tumor suppressor activity of the transmembrane protein with epidermal growth factor and two follistatin motifs 2 (TMEFF2) correlates with its ability to modulate sarcosine levels
26. Glutamate receptor dysfunction and schizophrenia
27. Glycine-N methyltransferase expression in HepG2 cells is involved in methyl group homeostasis by regulating transmethylation kinetics and DNA methylation
28. Phencyclidine-induced psychosis
29. D-Serine and a glycine transporter inhibitor improve MK-801-induced cognitive deficits in a novel object recognition test in rats
30. D-cycloserine, sarcosine and D-serine diminish the expression of cocaine-induced conditioned place preference
31. Differential properties of two stably expressed brain-specific glycine transporters
32. Pharmacology and expression analysis of glycine transporter GlyT1 with [3H]-(N-[3-(4'-fluorophenyl)-3-(4'phenylphenoxy)propyl])sarcosine
33. Glycine N-methyltransferase-/- mice develop chronic hepatitis and glycogen storage disease in the liver
34. Effects of Chronic D-Serine Elevation on Animal Models of Depression and Anxiety-Related Behavior
35. Gene knockout of glycine transporter 1: characterization of the behavioral phenotype
36. Hierarchical clustering of immunohistochemical analysis of the activated ErbB/PI3K/Akt/NF-kappaB signalling pathway and prognostic significance in prostate cancer
37. Glycine transporter I inhibitor, N-methylglycine (sarcosine), added to clozapine for the treatment of schizophrenia
38. The glutamatergic dysfunction hypothesis for schizophrenia
39. Sarcosine or D-serine add-on treatment for acute exacerbation of schizophrenia: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study
40. Structural requirements for activation of the glycine coagonist site of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors expressed in Xenopus oocytes
41. Modulation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor function by glycine transport
42. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled comparison study of sarcosine (N-methylglycine) and D-serine add-on treatment for schizophrenia
43. Glutamate-mediated extrasynaptic inhibition: direct coupling of NMDA receptors to Ca(2+)-activated K+ channels
44. Clozapine, but not haloperidol, enhances glial D-serine and L-glutamate release in rat frontal cortex and primary cultured astrocytes
45. Glycine transporters: crucial roles of pharmacological interest revealed by gene deletion
46. Tissue distribution of glycine N-methyltransferase, a major folate-binding protein of liver
47. Metabolomic profiles delineate potential role for sarcosine in prostate cancer progression
48. Purification and characterization of glycine N-methyltransferase
49. D-Serine and a glycine transporter-1 inhibitor enhance social memory in rats
50. D-serine added to antipsychotics for the treatment of schizophrenia
51. Plasma sarcosine does not distinguish early and advanced stages of prostate cancer
52. D-serine added to clozapine for the treatment of schizophrenia
53. Dimethylglycine and chemically related amines tested for mutagenicity under potential nitrosation conditions
54. Molecular biology of glycinergic neurotransmission
55. Disruption of glycine transporter 1 restricted to forebrain neurons is associated with a procognitive and antipsychotic phenotypic profile
56. Pharmacological assessment of the role of the glycine transporter GlyT-1 in mediating high-affinity glycine uptake by rat cerebral cortex and cerebellum synaptosomes
57. Fully automated solid-phase microextraction-fast gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method using a new ionic liquid column for high-throughput analysis of sarcosine and N-ethylglycine in human urine and urinary sediments
58. The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor modulator GLYX-13 enhances learning and memory, in young adult and learning impaired aging rats
59. Sarcosine in urine after digital rectal examination fails as a marker in prostate cancer detection and identification of aggressive tumours
60. Enzymatic properties of dimethylglycine dehydrogenase and sarcosine dehydrogenase from rat liver
61. Progress towards validating the NMDA receptor hypofunction hypothesis of schizophrenia
62. A multiplex model of combining gene-based, protein-based, and metabolite-based with positive and negative markers in urine for the early diagnosis of prostate cancer
63. Glycine site-directed agonists reverse the actions of ethanol at the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor
64. L-Pipecolic acid oxidase, a human enzyme essential for the degradation of L-pipecolic acid, is most similar to the monomeric sarcosine oxidases
65. Studies of the HER-2/neu proto-oncogene in human breast and ovarian cancer
66. Serum sarcosine increases the accuracy of prostate cancer detection in patients with total serum PSA less than 4.0 ng/ml
67. Placebo-controlled trial of D-cycloserine added to conventional neuroleptics, olanzapine, or risperidone in schizophrenia
68. Efficacy of high-dose glycine in the treatment of enduring negative symptoms of schizophrenia
69. Glycinergic augmentation of NMDA receptor-mediated neurotransmission in the treatment of schizophrenia
70. Decreased serum levels of D-serine in patients with schizophrenia: evidence in support of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor hypofunction hypothesis of schizophrenia
71. Sarcosine in prostate cancer tissue is not a differential metabolite for prostate cancer aggressiveness and biochemical progression
72. Her-2/neu expression in prostate cancer: high level of expression associated with exposure to hormone therapy and androgen independent disease
73. Efforts to resolve the contradictions in early diagnosis of prostate cancer: a comparison of different algorithms of sarcosine in urine
74. Inhibition of glycine transporter-I as a novel mechanism for the treatment of depression
75. The role of sarcosine metabolism in prostate cancer progression