Related Experiment Videos
Pitx3 is required for development of substantia nigra dopaminergic neurons
Irene Nunes1, Lucy T Tovmasian, Robert M Silva
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Abstract:
Dopaminergic (DA) neurons of substantia nigra in the midbrain control voluntary movement, and their degeneration is the cause of Parkinson's disease. The complete set of genes required to specifically determine the development of midbrain DA subgroups is not known yet. We report here that mice lacking the bicoid-related homeoprotein Pitx3 fail to develop DA neurons of the substantia nigra. Other mesencephalic DA neurons of the ventral tegmental area and retrorubral field are unaltered in their dopamine expression and histological organization. These data suggest that Pitx3-dependent gene expression is specifically required for the differentiation of DA progenitors within the mesencephalic DA system.