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Zhang, J. ; Götz, S. ; Vogt Weisenhorn, D.M. ; Simeone, A.* ; Wurst, W. ; Prakash, N.

A WNT1-regulated developmental gene cascade prevents dopaminergic neurodegeneration in adult En1+/- mice.

Neurobiol. Dis. 82, 32-45 (2015)
DOI PMC
Open Access Green as soon as Postprint is submitted to ZB.
The protracted and age-dependent degeneration of dopamine (DA)-producing neurons of the Substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) in the mammalian midbrain is a hallmark of human Parkinson's Disease (PD) and of certain genetic mouse models of PD, such as mice heterozygote for the homeodomain transcription factor Engrailed 1 (En1(+/-) mice). Neurotoxin-based animal models of PD, in contrast, are characterized by the fast and partly reversible degeneration of the SNc and VTA DA neurons. The secreted protein WNT1 was previously shown to be strongly induced in the neurotoxin-injured adult ventral midbrain (VM), and to protect the SNc and VTA DA neurons from cell death in this context. We demonstrate here that the sustained and ectopic expression of Wnt1 in the SNc and VTA DA neurons of En1(+/Wnt1) mice also protected these genetically affected En1 heterozygote (En1(+/-)) neurons from their premature degeneration in the adult mouse VM. We identified a developmental gene cascade that is up-regulated in the adult En1(+/Wnt1) VM, including the direct WNT1/β-catenin signaling targets Lef1, Lmx1a, Fgf20 and Dkk3, as well as the indirect targets Pitx3 (activated by LMX1A) and Bdnf (activated by PITX3). We also show that the secreted neurotrophin BDNF and the secreted WNT modulator DKK3, but not the secreted growth factor FGF20, increased the survival of En1 mutant dopaminergic neurons in vitro. The WNT1-mediated signaling pathway and its downstream targets BDNF and DKK3 might thus provide a useful means to treat certain genetic and environmental (neurotoxic) forms of human PD.
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Publication type Article: Journal article
Document type Scientific Article
Corresponding Author
Keywords Bdnf ; Dkk3 ; Dopamine Neuron ; Fgf20 ; Lef1 ; Lmx1a ; Parkinson’s Disease ; Pitx3 ; Neuroprotection ; Survival
ISSN (print) / ISBN 0969-9961
e-ISSN 1095-953X
Journal Neurobiology of Disease
Quellenangaben Volume: 82, Issue: , Pages: 32-45 Article Number: , Supplement: ,
Publisher Elsevier
Non-patent literature Publications
Reviewing status Peer reviewed
Institute(s) Institute of Developmental Genetics (IDG)