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Neurobiology

Dopamine receptors get a boost

Nature volume 411, pages 35–38 (2001)Cite this article

A protein that controls the growth and survival of neurons is now shown to have another task: boosting the expression of a molecule that allows neurons to respond to the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Nerve cells in many parts of the brain communicate using the neurotransmitter dopamine, and dopamine-dependent neuronal pathways are thought to be defective in several brain disorders, including Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia and drug addiction. Much of the diversity in dopamine's effects can be explained by the fact that it works through five different types of receptor molecule. Of these, the D1 and D2 receptors are the most common and have been investigated most thoroughly, but the D3 receptor, too, has received much attention since its discovery just over a decade ago1. A few definitive roles for this receptor have now emerged2,3,4. It is unusual in being expressed in just a few brain regions. On page 86 of this issue, Guillin and colleagues5 provide evidence for another odd characteristic. They find that expression of the D3 receptor is regulated by brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) — a protein that was once thought to be needed simply for the proliferation, maturation and survival of neurons.

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Figure 1: A neuronal growth factor broadens its scope.

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  1. Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Finch University of Health Sciences, The Chicago Medical School, 3333 Green Bay Road, North Chicago, 60064, Illinois, USA

    Francis J. White

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  1. Francis J. White
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Correspondence to Francis J. White.

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White, F. Dopamine receptors get a boost. Nature 411, 35–38 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35075193

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