Parkinson's Disease Iron Deposition Caused by Nitric Oxide-Induced Loss of β-Amyloid Precursor Protein

Elevation of both neuronal iron and nitric oxide (NO) in the substantia nigra are associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) pathogenesis. We reported previously that the Alzheimer-associated beta-amyloid precursor protein (APP) facilitates neuronal iron export. Here we report markedly decreased APP expression in dopaminergic neurons of human PD nigra and that APP(-/-) mice develop iron-dependent nigral cell loss. Conversely, APP-overexpressing mice are protected in the MPTP PD model. NO suppresses APP translation in mouse MPTP models, explaining how elevated NO causes iron-dependent neurodegeneration in PD.