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Zebrafish chemical screening reveals the impairment of dopaminergic neuronal survival by cardiac glycosides.

ABSTRACT: Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the prominent degeneration of dopaminergic (DA) neurons among other cell types. Here we report a first chemical screen of over 5,000 compounds in zebrafish, aimed at identifying small molecule modulators of DA neuron development or survival. We find that Neriifolin, a member of the cardiac glycoside family of compounds, impairs survival but not differentiation of both zebrafish and mammalian DA neurons. Cardiac glycosides are inhibitors of Na(+)/K(+) ATPase activity and widely used for treating heart disorders. Our data suggest that Neriifolin impairs DA neuronal survival by targeting the neuronal enriched Na(+)/K(+) ATPase ?3 subunit (ATP1A3). Modulation of ionic homeostasis, knockdown of p53, or treatment with antioxidants protects DA neurons from Neriifolin-induced death. These results reveal a previously unknown effect of cardiac glycosides on DA neuronal survival and suggest that it is mediated through ATP1A3 inhibition, oxidative stress, and p53. They also elucidate potential approaches for counteracting the neurotoxicity of this valuable class of medications.

SUBMITTER: Sun Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3338518 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Zebrafish chemical screening reveals the impairment of dopaminergic neuronal survival by cardiac glycosides.

Sun Yaping Y Dong Zhiqiang Z Khodabakhsh Hadie H Chatterjee Sandip S Guo Su S

PloS one 20120426 4

Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the prominent degeneration of dopaminergic (DA) neurons among other cell types. Here we report a first chemical screen of over 5,000 compounds in zebrafish, aimed at identifying small molecule modulators of DA neuron development or survival. We find that Neriifolin, a member of the cardiac glycoside family of compounds, impairs survival but not differentiation of both zebrafish and mammalian DA neurons. Cardiac glycosides are i ...[more]

PMID: 22563390

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Project description:Recessive mutations in the F-box only protein 7 gene (FBXO7) cause PARK15, a mendelian form of early-onset, levodopa-responsive parkinsonism with severe loss of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons. However, the function of the protein encoded by FBXO7, and the pathogenesis of PARK15 remain unknown. No animal models of this disease exist. Here, we report the generation of a vertebrate model of PARK15 in zebrafish. We first show that the zebrafish Fbxo7 homolog protein (zFbxo7) is expressed abundantly in the normal zebrafish brain. Next, we used two zFbxo7-specific morpholinos (targeting protein translation and mRNA splicing, respectively), to knock down the zFbxo7 expression. The injection of either of these zFbxo7-specific morpholinos in the fish embryos induced a marked decrease in the zFbxo7 protein expression, and a range of developmental defects. Furthermore, whole-mount in situ mRNA hybridization showed abnormal patterning and significant decrease in the number of diencephalic tyrosine hydroxylase-expressing neurons, corresponding to the human nigrostriatal or ventral tegmental dopaminergic neurons. Of note, the number of the dopamine transporter-expressing neurons was much more severely depleted, suggesting dopaminergic dysfunctions earlier and larger than those due to neuronal loss. Last, the zFbxo7 morphants displayed severe locomotor disturbances (bradykinesia), which were dramatically improved by the dopaminergic agonist apomorphine. The severity of these morphological and behavioral abnormalities correlated with the severity of zFbxo7 protein deficiency. Moreover, the effects of the co-injection of zFbxo7- and p53-specific morpholinos were similar to those obtained with zFbxo7-specific morpholinos alone, supporting further the contention that the observed phenotypes were specifically due to the knock down of zFbxo7. In conclusion, this novel vertebrate model reproduces pathologic and behavioral hallmarks of human parkinsonism (dopaminergic neuronal loss and dopamine-dependent bradykinesia), representing therefore a valid tool for investigating the mechanisms of selective dopaminergic neuronal death, and screening for modifier genes and therapeutic compounds.

Project description:BACKGROUND: Dopaminergic neurons form in diverse areas of the vertebrate di- and mesencephalon to constitute several major neuromodulatory systems. While much is known about mammalian mesencephalic dopaminergic neuron development, little is known about the specification of the diencephalic dopaminergic groups. The transcription factors Pitx3 and Lmx1b play an important role in mammalian mesencephalic dopaminergic specification, and Nurr1/Nr4a2 has been shown to contribute to specification of the dopaminergic neurotransmitter phenotype. We use zebrafish to analyze potentially evolutionarily conserved roles of these transcription factors in a vertebrate brain that lacks a mesencephalic dopaminergic system, but has an ascending dopaminergic system in the ventral diencephalon. RESULTS: We use a combination of fluorescent in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry to determine whether nr4a2, lmx1b, and pitx3 genes are expressed in mature dopaminergic neurons or in potential precursor populations. We identify a second nr4a2 paralogue, nr4a2a, and find it co-expressed with Tyrosine hydroxylase in preoptic, pretectal and retinal amacrine dopaminergic neurons, while nr4a2b is only expressed in preoptic and retinal dopaminergic neurons. Both zebrafish nr4a2 paralogues are not expressed in ventral diencephalic dopaminergic neurons with ascending projections. Combined morpholino antisense oligo mediated knock-down of both nr4a2a and nr4a2b transcripts reveals that all zebrafish dopaminergic neurons expressing nr4a2a depend on Nr4a2 activity for tyrosine hydroxylase and dopamine transporter expression. Zebrafish lmx1b.1 is expressed in noradrenergic neurons of the locus coeruleus and medulla oblongata, but knock-down reveals that it is specifically required for tyrosine hydroxylase expression only in the medulla oblongata area postrema noradrenergic neurons. Both lmx1b genes and pitx3 are not expressed in dopaminergic neurons, but in a diencephalic territory that might contain precursor cells for ventral diencephalic dopaminergic neurons. Upon morpholino knock-down of both lmx1b paralogues, the number of neurons in diencephalic dopaminergic clusters with ascending projections appears specifically reduced. Thus lmx1b paralogues may contribute to the generation of diencephalic dopaminergic precursors. Conversely, knock-down of pitx3 does not specifically affect any diencephalic DA cluster. CONCLUSION: Our data indicate a conserved evolutionary role of Nr4a2 proteins in specification of the neurotransmitter phenotype, albeit it appears to be only one of several regulatory modules of dopaminergic differentiation, as most ventral diencephalic dopaminergic neurons do not express nr4a2 genes in zebrafish. For zebrafish lmx1b genes, which are not expressed in mature dopaminergic neurons, our data suggest a role in diencephalic precursor populations contributing to the ascending dopaminergic systems. A di-mesencephalic longitudinal domain of lmx1b expression may be the basis for the expansion and posterior shift of ventral di-/mesencephalic dopaminergic populations with ascending projections during evolution.

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Zebrafish chemical screening reveals the impairment of dopaminergic neuronal survival by cardiac glycosides.

Publications

Zebrafish chemical screening reveals the impairment of dopaminergic neuronal survival by cardiac glycosides.

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