title: Understanding the susceptibility of dopamine neurons to mitochondrial stressors in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: Mitochondria are undoubtedly changed in Parkinson's disease (PD), and mitochondrial functions are disrupted in genetic and pharmacologic models of PD. However, many of these changes might not truly drive neurodegeneration. PD is defined by the particular susceptibility of nigrostriatal dopamine (DA) neurons, but little is understood about the mitochondria in these cells. Here, we critically review the evidence that mitochondrial stressors cause PD. We then consider how changes in the intrinsic function of mitochondria and in their mass, distribution, and dynamics might synergize with an increased need for mitochondria and produce PD, and the importance of understanding how mitochondria contribute to its pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
authors.forename: Dominik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Haddad
authors.affiliation: Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Neurology, and Graduate Programs in Neuroscience and Biomedical Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakamura
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D059290:Dopaminergic Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism*; D063154:Mitochondrial Dynamics; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological
chemical_list: D002118:Calcium
keywords: Bioenergetics; Dopamine; Mitochondria; Neurodegeneration; Parkinson’s disease