Modulation of myelin basic protein gene expression by acetyl-L-carnitine.

Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC), the acetyl ester of L-carnitine, is a naturally occurring molecule which plays an essential role in intermediary and mitochondrial metabolism. It has also neurotrophic and antioxidant actions, demonstrating efficacy and high tolerability in the treatment of neuropathies of various etiologies. ALC is a molecule of considerable interest for its clinical application in various neural disorders, although little is known regarding its effects on gene expression. Suppression subtractive hybridization methodology was used for the generation of subtracted complementary DNA libraries and the subsequent identification of differentially expressed transcripts in the rat brain after chronic ALC treatments. We provided evidence for a downregulation of the expression of all of the isoforms of myelin basic protein gene following prolonged ALC treatment, indicating a possible role in the modulation of myelin basic protein turnover, stabilizing and maintaining myelin integrity.