PUBLICATION

Impaired dopaminergic neuron development and locomotor function in zebrafish with loss of pink1 function

Authors
Xi, Y., Ryan, J., Noble, S., Yu, M., Yilbas, A.E., and Ekker, M.
ID
ZDB-PUB-100211-26
Date
2010
Source
The European journal of neuroscience   31(4): 623-633 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Ekker, Marc, Xi, Yanwei
Keywords
dopaminergic neuron, Parkinson's disease, pink1, zebrafish
MeSH Terms
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Diencephalon/anatomy & histology
  • Diencephalon/drug effects
  • Diencephalon/growth & development*
  • Diencephalon/metabolism
  • Dopamine/metabolism
  • Larva/drug effects
  • Larva/physiology
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Neurons/metabolism
  • Neurons/physiology
  • Oligonucleotides, Antisense/pharmacology
  • Protein Kinases/genetics*
  • Protein Kinases/metabolism
  • Swimming/physiology*
  • Touch Perception/physiology*
  • Zebrafish*
PubMed
20141529 Full text @ Eur. J. Neurosci.
Abstract
Mutations in the human PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1) gene are linked to recessive familial Parkinson's disease. Animal models of altered PINK1 function vary greatly in their phenotypic characteristics. Drosophila pink1 mutants exhibit mild dopaminergic neuron degeneration and locomotion defects. Such defects are not observed in mice with targeted null mutations in pink1, although these mice exhibit impaired dopamine release and synaptic plasticity. Here, we report that in zebrafish, morpholino-mediated knockdown of pink1 function did not cause large alterations in the number of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral diencephalon. However, the patterning of these neurons and their projections are perturbed. This is accompanied by locomotor dysfunction, notably impaired response to tactile stimuli and reduced swimming behaviour. All these defects can be rescued by expression of an exogenous pink1 that is not a target of the morpholinos used. These results indicate that normal PINK1 function during development is necessary for the proper positioning of populations of dopaminergic neurons and for the establishment of neuronal circuits in which they are implicated.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Show all Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping