| First Author | Smidt MP | Year | 1997 |
| Journal | Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A | Volume | 94 |
| Issue | 24 | Pages | 13305-10 |
| PubMed ID | 9371841 | Mgi Jnum | J:44602 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:1100609 | Doi | 10.1073/pnas.94.24.13305 |
| Citation | Smidt MP, et al. (1997) A homeodomain gene Ptx3 has highly restricted brain expression in mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 94(24):13305-10 |
| abstractText | The mesencephalic dopaminergic (mesDA) system regulates behavior and movement control and has been implicated in psychiatric and affective disorders. We have identified a bicoid-related homeobox gene, Ptx3, a member of the Ptx-subfamily, that is uniquely expressed in these neurons. Its expression starting at E11.5 in the developing mouse midbrain correlates with the appearance of mesDA neurons. The number of Ptx3-expressing neurons is reduced in Parkinson patients, and these neurons are absent from 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats, an animal model for this disease. Thus, Ptx3 is a unique transcription factor marking the mesDA neurons at the exclusion of other dopaminergic neurons, and it may be involved in developmental determination of this neuronal lineage. |
