TY - JOUR
T1 - Unexpected expression of α- and β-globin in mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons and glial cells
AU - Biagioli, Marta
AU - Pinto, Milena
AU - Cesselli, Daniela
AU - Zaninello, Marta
AU - Lazarevic, Dejan
AU - Roncaglia, Paola
AU - Simone, Roberto
AU - Vlachouli, Christina
AU - Plessy, Charles
AU - Bertin, Nicolas
AU - Beltrami, Antonio
AU - Kobayashi, Kazuto
AU - Gallo, Vittorio
AU - Santoro, Claudio
AU - Ferrer, Isidro
AU - Rivella, Stefano
AU - Beltrami, Carlo Alberto
AU - Carninci, Piero
AU - Raviola, Elio
AU - Gustincich, Stefano
PY - 2009/9/8
Y1 - 2009/9/8
N2 - The mesencephalic dopaminergic (mDA) cell system is composed of two major groups of projecting cells in the substantia nigra (SN) (A9 neurons) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA) (A10 cells). A9 neurons form the nigrostriatal pathway and are involved in regulating voluntary movements and postural reflexes. Their selective degeneration leads to Parkinson's disease. Here, we report that gene expression analysis of A9 dopaminergic neurons (DA) identifies transcripts for α- and β-chains of hemoglobin (Hb). Globin immunoreactivity decorates the majority of A9 DA, a subpopulation of cortical and hippocampal astrocytes and mature oligodendrocytes. This pattern of expression was confirmed in different mouse strains and in rat and human. We show that Hb is expressed in the SN of human postmortem brain. By microarray analysis of dopaminergic cell lines overexpressing α- and β-globin chains, changes in genes involved in O2 homeostasis and oxidative phopshorylation were observed, linking Hb expression to mitochondrial function. Our data suggest that the most famed oxygen-carrying globin is not exclusively restricted to the blood, but it may play a role in the normal physiology of the brain and neurodegenerative diseases.
AB - The mesencephalic dopaminergic (mDA) cell system is composed of two major groups of projecting cells in the substantia nigra (SN) (A9 neurons) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA) (A10 cells). A9 neurons form the nigrostriatal pathway and are involved in regulating voluntary movements and postural reflexes. Their selective degeneration leads to Parkinson's disease. Here, we report that gene expression analysis of A9 dopaminergic neurons (DA) identifies transcripts for α- and β-chains of hemoglobin (Hb). Globin immunoreactivity decorates the majority of A9 DA, a subpopulation of cortical and hippocampal astrocytes and mature oligodendrocytes. This pattern of expression was confirmed in different mouse strains and in rat and human. We show that Hb is expressed in the SN of human postmortem brain. By microarray analysis of dopaminergic cell lines overexpressing α- and β-globin chains, changes in genes involved in O2 homeostasis and oxidative phopshorylation were observed, linking Hb expression to mitochondrial function. Our data suggest that the most famed oxygen-carrying globin is not exclusively restricted to the blood, but it may play a role in the normal physiology of the brain and neurodegenerative diseases.
KW - Astrocytes
KW - Hemoglobin
KW - Oligodendrocytes
KW - Oxidative phosphorylation
KW - Parkinson
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=70349337904&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1073/pnas.0813216106
DO - 10.1073/pnas.0813216106
M3 - Article
SN - 0027-8424
VL - 106
SP - 15454
EP - 15459
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
IS - 36
ER -