Journal
DEVELOPMENT
Volume 130, Issue 11, Pages 2535-2542Publisher
COMPANY BIOLOGISTS LTD
DOI: 10.1242/dev.00464
Keywords
homeobox; transcription factor; Pitx3 (Ptx3); midbrain; dopamine
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Mesencephalic dopaminergic (MesDA) neurons play crucial roles in motor and behavioral processes; their loss in Parkinson's disease (PD) results in striatal dopamine (DA) deficiency and hypokinetic movement disorder. The Pitx3 homeobox gene is expressed in the MesDA system. We now show that only a subset of MesDA neurons express Pitx3 and that in Pitx3-deficient aphakia mice, this subset is progressively lost by apoptosis during fetal (substantia nigra, SN) and postnatal (ventral tegmental area) development, resulting in very low striatal DA and akinesia. Similar to human PD, dorsal SN neurons (which are Pitx3 negative) are spared in mutant mice. Thus, Pitx3 defines a pathway for survival of neurons that are implicated in PD and that are required for spontaneous locomotor activity.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available