Engrailed homeoprotein protects mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons from oxidative stress

ABSTRACT: Engrailed homeoproteins are expressed in adult dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra. In Engrailed1 heterozygous mice, these neurons start dying at 6 weeks, are more sensitive to oxidative stress and progressively develop traits similar to those observed following an acute and strong oxidative stress inflected to wild-type neurons. These changes include DNA strand breaks and the modification (intensity and distribution) of several nuclear and nucleolar heterochromatin marks. Engrailed1 and Engrailed2 are biochemically equivalent transducing proteins previously used to antagonize dopaminergic neuron death in Engrailed heterozygous mice and in mouse models of Parkinson disease. Accordingly, we show that, following an acute oxidative stress, a single Engrailed2 injection restores all nuclear and nucleolar heterochromatin marks, decreases the number of DNA strand breaks and protects dopaminergic neurons against apoptosis. RNA-seq data for differentially expressed genes in the SNpc of En1+/- mice, En2 infused mice and 6-OHDA/En2 injection experiments.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

SUBMITTER: Hocine Rekaik 

PROVIDER: E-GEOD-72321 | biostudies-arrayexpress |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress