Shirley Guo- Ross
Tanzania
Research Article
Region Specific Effects of Aging and the Nurr1-Null Heterozygous Genotype on Dopamine Neurotransmission
Author(s): Evangel Kummari, Shirley Guo- Ross and Jeffrey B EellsEvangel Kummari, Shirley Guo- Ross and Jeffrey B Eells
The transcription factor Nurr1 is essential for dopamine neuron differentiation and is important in maintaining dopamine synthesis and neurotransmission in the adult. Reduced Nurr1 function, due to the Nurr1-null heterozygous genotype (+/-), impacts dopamine neuron function in a region specific manner resulting in a decrease in dopamine synthesis in the dorsal and ventral striatum and a decrease in tissue dopamine levels in the ventral striatum. Additionally, maintenance of tissue dopamine levels in the dorsal striatum and survival of nigrostriatal dopamine neurons with aging (>15 months) or after various toxicant treatments are impaired. To further investigate the effects of aging and the Nurr1-null heterozygous genotype, we measured regional tissue dopamine levels, dopamine neuron numbers, body weight, open field activity and rota-rod performance in young (3-5 months) and aged (1.. View More»
