title: Impaired motor coordination in Pitx3 overexpression mice.
abstract: Midbrain dopaminergic (DA) neurons are involved in the regulation of voluntary movement and in emotion-related behaviors and are affected in Parkinson's disease (PD). The homeodomain transcription factor Pitx3, which is uniquely expressed in midbrain DA neurons, plays a critical role in the development, function and maintenance of midbrain DA neurons. Pitx3 deficiency results in selective deficits of midbrain DA neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc), reminiscent of the specific DA neuronal loss observed in PD. In this study, we found that selective overexpression of Pitx3 in intact midbrain DA neurons significantly affects the function of midbrain DA neurons. We observed changes in DA levels and gene expressions in mice overexpressing Pitx3. Furthermore, motor coordination and locomotion activities are significantly affected in mice overexpressing Pitx3, suggesting that the expression level of Pitx3 plays an important role in the function of midbrain DA neuron in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Dongguk University, Seoul 100-715, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hongwon
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Dongguk University, Seoul 100-715, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Xiaoyuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Quan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Dongguk University, Seoul 100-715, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yeju
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Seong
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Dongguk University, Seoul 100-715, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: jk2316@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jongpil
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism; D059290:Dopaminergic Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008124:Locomotion; D008297:Male; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008958:Models, Molecular; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C433629:homeobox protein PITX3; D004298:Dopamine
keywords: Midbrain DA neurons; Parkinson’s disease; Pitx3