title: Identification of nigral dopaminergic neuron-enriched genes in adult rats.
abstract: Dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra play crucial roles in movement control and other physiological activities. Degeneration of these neurons is closely associated with Parkinson's disease. However, the molecular identity of nigral DA neurons is not fully understood. To identify nigral DA neuron-enriched genes, we used microarrays to compare the genome-wide gene expression profiles in 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned, and control, substantia nigra. We identified a total of 88 unique differentially expressed gene transcripts. The spatial expression patterns of a set of these genes, including Slc10a4, Rit2, F2r, Snx10 and Slc24a3, were validated by in situ hybridization. It was revealed that their expression was highly specific in the substantia nigra. Thus we identified a set of genes that are highly expressed in nigral DA neurons, and may be involved in the maintenance and survival of nigral DA neurons in the adult rat brain. Our study also provides a general approach for profiling cell type-specific gene expression in the mature mammalian brain.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
authors.forename: Qinbo
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Juntao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Hanzhi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yanqing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Jiawei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis / Q000379:methods; D016627:Oxidopamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013266:Stilbamidines / Q000378:metabolism; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C049774:2-hydroxy-4,4'-diamidinostilbene, methanesulfonate salt; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D013266:Stilbamidines; D016627:Oxidopamine; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase; D004298:Dopamine