The aim of this work was to characterize several ionic channels in nervous cells of the suboesophageal visceral, left and right parietal, and left and right pleural brain ganglia complex of the snail Helix aspersa by immunocytochemistry. We have studied the immunostaining reaction for a wide panel of eleven polyclonal antibodies raised against mammal antigens as follows: voltage-gated-Na+ chann...

Weaver is a spontaneous mutation in mice characterized by the postnatal loss of external granule cells in the cerebellum and dopaminergic neurons of the midbrain, especially in the substantia nigra. We have shown previously that natural cell death with the morphology of apoptosis occurs in the substantia nigra of normal rodents during postnatal development. We therefore sought to determine whet...

The mechanisms underlying the selective death of substantia nigra (SN) neurons in Parkinson disease (PD) remain elusive. While inactivation of DJ-1, an oxidative stress suppressor, causes PD, animal models lacking DJ-1 show no overt dopaminergic (DA) neuron degeneration in the SN. Here, we show that aging mice lacking DJ-1 and the GDNF-receptor Ret in the DA system display an accelerated loss o...

G protein-gated K(+) channels (Kir3.1-Kir3.4) control electrical excitability in many different cells. Among their functions relevant to human physiology and disease, they regulate the heart rate and govern a wide range of neuronal activities. Here, we present the first crystal structures of a G protein-gated K(+) channel. By comparing the wild-type structure to that of a constitutively active ...

Gene expression data sets have recently been exploited to study genetic factors that modulate complex traits. However, it has been challenging to establish a direct link between variation in patterns of gene expression and variation in higher order traits such as neuropharmacological responses and patterns of behavior. Here we illustrate an approach that combines gene expression data with new b...

UNLABELLED : The progressive death of dopamine producing neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta is the principal cause of symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). Stem cells have potential therapeutic use in replacing these cells and restoring function. To facilitate development of this approach, we sought to establish a preclinical model based on a large nonhuman primate for testing the ef...

Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) control intracellular signaling cascades through activation of G proteins. The inwardly rectifying K+ channel, GIRK, is activated by the beta gamma subunits of G proteins and is widely expressed in the brain. We investigated whether an interaction between mGluRs and GIRK is possible, using Xenopus oocytes expressing mGluRs and a cardiac/brain subunit of...