A homeodomain gene Ptx3 has highly restricted brain expression in mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 9371841.
- Also identified by PMC identifier 24304.
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Abstract
The mesencephalic dopaminergic (mesDA) system regulates behavior and movement control and has been implicated in psychiatric and affective disorders. We have identified a bicoid-related homeobox gene, Ptx3, a member of the Ptx-subfamily, that is uniquely expressed in these neurons. Its expression starting at E11.5 in the developing mouse midbrain correlates with the appearance of mesDA neurons. The number of Ptx3-expressing neurons is reduced in Parkinson patients, and these neurons are absent from 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats, an animal model for this disease. Thus, Ptx3 is a unique transcription factor marking the mesDA neurons at the exclusion of other dopaminergic neurons, and it may be involved in developmental determination of this neuronal lineage.
Medical subject headings
- Dopamine
- Membrane Proteins
- Mesencephalon
- Neurons