| First Author | Mullett SJ | Year | 2009 |
| Journal | Neurobiol Dis | Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 28-36 |
| PubMed ID | 18930142 | Mgi Jnum | J:144565 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3831224 | Doi | 10.1016/j.nbd.2008.09.013 |
| Citation | Mullett SJ, et al. (2009) DJ-1 knock-down in astrocytes impairs astrocyte-mediated neuroprotection against rotenone. Neurobiol Dis 33(1):28-36 |
| abstractText | Mutations that eliminate DJ-1 expression cause a familial form of Parkinson's disease (PD). In sporadic PD, and many other neurodegenerative diseases, reactive astrocytes over-express DJ-1 whereas neurons maintain its expression at non-disease levels. Since DJ-1 has neuroprotective properties, and since astrocytes are known to support and protect neurons, DJ-1 over-expression in reactive astrocytes may reflect an attempt by these cells to protect themselves and surrounding neurons against disease progression. We used neuron-astrocyte contact and non-contact co-cultures to show that DJ-1 knock-down in astrocytes impaired their neuroprotective capacity, relative to wild-type astrocytes, against the neurotoxin rotenone. Conversely, DJ-1 over-expression in astrocytes augmented their neuroprotective capacity. Experiments using astrocyte conditioned media on neuron-only cultures suggested that astrocyte-released, soluble factors were involved in the DJ-1-dependent, astrocyte-mediated neuroprotective mechanism. Our findings support the developing view that astrocytic dysfunction, in addition to neuronal dysfunction, may contribute to the progression of a variety of neurodegenerative disorders. |
