Phenotype, compartmental organization and differential vulnerability of nigral dopaminergic neurons.
J Neural Transm Suppl
; (73): 21-37, 2009.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-20411765
ABSTRACT
The degeneration of nigral dopaminergic (DA-) neurons is the histopathologic hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD), but not all nigral DA-cells show the same susceptibility to degeneration. This starts in DA-cells in the ventrolateral and caudal regions of the susbtantia nigra (SN) and progresses to DA-cells in the dorsomedial and rostral regions of the SN and the ventral tegmental area, where many neurons remain intact until the final stages of the disease. This fact indicates a relationship between the topographic distribution of midbrain DA-cells and their differential vulnerability, and the possibility that this differential vulnerability is associated with phenotypic differences between different subpopulations of nigral DA-cells. Studies carried out during the last two decades have contributed to establishing the existence of different compartments of nigral DA-cells according to their neurochemical profile, and a possible relationship between the expression of some factors and the relative vulnerability or resistance of DA-cell subpopulations to degeneration. These aspects are reviewed and discussed here.
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Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Phenotype
/
Substantia Nigra
/
Dopamine
/
Gene Expression Regulation
/
Neurons
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
J Neural Transm Suppl
Year:
2009
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
España