This study shows that the transcriptional repressor Otx2 negatively regulates the expression of the dopamine transporter DAT in dopaminergic neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Elevated Otx2 confers resistance to the neurotoxin MPTP and may explain why a subpopulation of VTA neurons resist degeneration in Parkinson's disease.
- Michela Di Salvio
- Luca Giovanni Di Giovannantonio
- Antonio Simeone