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Article
Nature 447, 1081-1086 (28 June 2007) | doi:10.1038/nature05865; Received 20 September 2006; Accepted 16 April 2007; Published online 10 June 2007
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'Rejuvenation' protects neurons in mouse models of Parkinson's disease
C. Savio Chan1, Jaime N. Guzman1, Ema Ilijic1, Jeff N. Mercer1, Caroline Rick1,3, Tatiana Tkatch1, Gloria E. Meredith2 & D. James Surmeier1
- Department of Physiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, 3333 Green Bay Road, Chicago, Illinois 60064, USA
- Present address: BCTU, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
Correspondence to: D. James Surmeier1 Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to D.J.S. (Email: j-surmeier@northwestern.edu).
Abstract
Why dopamine-containing neurons of the brain's substantia nigra pars compacta die in Parkinson's disease has been an enduring mystery. Our studies suggest that the unusual reliance of these neurons on L-type Cav1.3 Ca2+ channels to drive their maintained, rhythmic pacemaking renders them vulnerable to stressors thought to contribute to disease progression. The reliance on these channels increases with age, as juvenile dopamine-containing neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta use pacemaking mechanisms common to neurons not affected in Parkinson's disease. These mechanisms remain latent in adulthood, and blocking Cav1.3 Ca2+ channels in adult neurons induces a reversion to the juvenile form of pacemaking. Such blocking ('rejuvenation') protects these neurons in both in vitro and in vivo models of Parkinson's disease, pointing to a new strategy that could slow or stop the progression of the disease.
- Department of Physiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, 3333 Green Bay Road, Chicago, Illinois 60064, USA
- Present address: BCTU, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
Correspondence to: D. James Surmeier1 Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to D.J.S. (Email: j-surmeier@northwestern.edu).
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