The occurrence of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) in presynaptic neurons remains controversial. This study utilized dopaminergic and noradrenergic toxins to assess the presence of COMT in the presynaptic neurons originating from the substantia nigra, ventral tegmental area or locus coeruleus. Destruction of dopaminergic and noradrenergic neurons was assessed by measuring the dopamine and no...

Urocortin (UCN) is a member of the corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) family of neuropeptides that regulates stress responses. Although UCN is principally expressed in dopaminergic neurons in rat substantia nigra (SN), the function of UCN in modulating dopaminergic neuronal survival remains unclear. Using primary mesencephalic cultures, we demonstrated that dopaminergic neurons underwent spo...

Nurr1 is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily of transcription factors that is expressed predominantly in the central nervous system, including developing and mature dopaminergic neurons. Recent studies have demonstrated that Nurr1 is essential for the induction of phenotypic markers of ventral mid-brain dopaminergic neurons whose generation is specified by the floor plate-derived morph...

In the previous paper (Gerfen et al., 1987) mesostriatal dopaminergic neurons were shown to be subdivided into dorsal and ventral tiers that project to the striatal matrix and patch compartments, respectively. The present study provides experimental evidence that these patch-matrix mesostriatal dopaminergic systems are biochemically and developmentally distinct. A 28 kDa calcium-binding protein...

In previous studies, we have shown that dissociated dopaminergic neurons from embryonic mouse in co-culture with striatal target neurons take up and synthesize dopamine to a greater extent. We now report that striatal target cells influence the morphology of dopaminergic neurons as well. In co-culture, the total length of neuritic arborization visualized by autoradiography is reduced when compa...

The vertebrate diencephalic A11 system provides the sole dopaminergic innervation of hindbrain and spinal cord and has been implicated in modulation of locomotion and sensory processes. However, the exact contributions of sensory stimuli and motor behavior to A11 dopaminergic activity remain unclear. We recorded cellular calcium activity in four anatomically distinct posterior tubercular A11-ty...

Many neuronal groups such as dopamine-releasing (dopaminergic) neurons are functionally divergent, although the details of such divergence are not well understood. Dopamine in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans modulates various neural functions and is released from four left-right pairs of neurons. The terminal identities of these dopaminergic neurons are regulated by the same genetic program...

Aripiprazole, a dopamine D(2) receptor partial agonist, is used to treat schizophrenia. Although aripiprazole has been reported to protect non-dopaminergic neurons, its effect on dopaminergic neurons has yet to be investigated. In the present study, we examined whether aripiprazole protected dopaminergic neurons against glutamate-induced cytotoxicity in rat mesencephalic cultures. Pretreatment ...

AbstractIntroduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neuropathological disorder involving the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, with the subsequent loss of their terminals in the striatum. Quercetin, a natural flavonoid, is a strong antioxidant and radical scavenger. Therefore, its neuroprotective effect in a model of Parkinson’s disease in rat was evaluated.Methods: ...

In this study we present the use of elastic macroporous cryogels for differentiation and transplantation mature neurons. We develop a coating suitable long-term neuronal culture, including stem cell differentiation, by covalent immobilization neural adhesion proteins. context therapy Parkinson's disease, show compatibility with established dopaminergic both immortalized mesencephalic progenitor...