The A9 dopamine neuron component in grafts of ventral mesencephalon is an important determinant for recovery of motor function in a rat model of Parkinson's disease.
AuthorsGrealish S, Jönsson ME, Li M, Kirik D, Björklund A, Thompson LH
JournalBrain
PubMed ID20123725
'Grafts of foetal ventral mesencephalon, used in cell replacement therapy for Parkinson''s disease, are known to contain a mix of dopamine neuronal subtypes including the A9 neurons of the substantia nigra and the A10 neurons of the ventral tegmental area. However, the relative importance of these subtypes for functional repair ... More
Interactions of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling and sonic hedgehog regulate the neurogenesis of ventral midbrain dopamine neurons.
AuthorsTang M, Villaescusa JC, Luo SX, Guitarte C, Lei S, Miyamoto Y, Taketo MM, Arenas E, Huang EJ
JournalJ Neurosci
PubMed ID20610763
Signaling mechanisms involving Wnt/beta-catenin and sonic hedgehog (Shh) are known to regulate the development of ventral midbrain (vMB) dopamine neurons. However, the interactions between these two mechanisms and how such interactions can be targeted to promote a maximal production of dopamine neurons are not fully understood. Here we show that ... More
Pitx3 is a critical mediator of GDNF-induced BDNF expression in nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons.
AuthorsPeng C, Aron L, Klein R, Li M, Wurst W, Prakash N, Le W
JournalJ Neurosci
PubMed ID21900559
Pitx3 is a critical homeodomain transcription factor for the proper development and survival of mesodiencephalic dopaminergic (mdDA) neurons in mammals. Several variants of this gene have been associated with human Parkinson's disease (PD), and lack of Pitx3 in mice causes the preferential loss of substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) mdDA ... More
Lmx1a and lmx1b function cooperatively to regulate proliferation, specification, and differentiation of midbrain dopaminergic progenitors.
AuthorsYan CH, Levesque M, Claxton S, Johnson RL, Ang SL
JournalJ Neurosci
PubMed ID21880902
LIM homeodomain transcription factors, Lmx1a and Lmx1b, are required for the development of midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) neurons. Lmx1b is required for the specification and maintenance of mDA neurons, primarily due to its role in isthmic organizer development that is essential for the induction of mDA neurons. Here, we conditionally deleted ... More
ES cell-derived renewable and functional midbrain dopaminergic progenitors.
AuthorsChung S, Moon JI, Leung A, Aldrich D, Lukianov S, Kitayama Y, Park S, Li Y, Bolshakov VY, Lamonerie T, Kim KS
JournalProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
PubMed ID21606375
During early development, midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) neuronal progenitors (NPs) arise from the ventral mesencephalic area by the combined actions of secreted factors and their downstream transcription factors. These mDA NPs proliferate, migrate to their final destinations, and develop into mature mDA neurons in the substantia nigra and the ventral tegmental ... More