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NURRishing Dopamine Neurons with GDNF
Glial cell line–derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and its close relative neurturin are currently in clinical trials for neuroprotection in patients with Parkinson disease (PD). Although effective in classic neurotoxin animal models of this disease, GDNF has failed to afford protection in PD rodent models in which dopamine neurons are killed by α-synuclein toxicity. Using a rat model of α-synuclein–mediated PD, Decressac et al. now show that excess cellular concentrations of α-synuclein effectively block the trophic response of dopamine neurons to GDNF. They provide evidence that blockade of GDNF signaling is caused by reduced expression of the transcription factor Nurr1 and its downstream target, the GDNF receptor Ret. Deletion of Nurr1 resulted in reduced Ret expression, accompanied by a complete failure of dopamine neurons to respond to exogenously applied GDNF. However, when the investigators induced expression of Nurr1, Ret receptor expression was restored as well as the response to GDNF in the dopamine neurons subjected to α-synuclein toxicity. These results suggest that Nurr1 is a key player in the cellular defense against α-synuclein toxicity and highlight Nurr1 as a promising new target for neuroprotective therapy.
- Copyright © 2012, American Association for the Advancement of Science
