Brain-specific NRSF deficiency aggravates dopaminergic neurodegeneration and impairs neurogenesis in the MPTP mouse model of Parkinson's disease.

ABSTRACT: Degeneration of the dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and the resultant dopamine depletion from the striatum are the hallmarks of Parkinson's disease (PD) and are responsible for the disease's cardinal motor symptoms. The transcriptional repressor Neuron-Restrictive Silencer Factor (NRSF), also known as RE1-Silencing Transcription Factor (REST), was originally identified as a negative regulator of neuron-specific genes in non-neuronal cells. Our previous study showed that mice deficient in neuronal NRSF/REST expression were more vulnerable to the noxious effects of the dopaminergic neurotoxin MPTP. Here, we found that brain-specific deletion of NRSF/REST led to more severe damages to the nigrostriatal pathway and long-lasting behavioral impairments in mice challenged with

SUBMITTER: Huang D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6555471 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature