DOPAMINE NEURON AGENESIS IN NURR1-DEFICIENT MICE

Dopamine neurons of the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area re gulate movement and affective behavior and degenerate in Parkinson's d isease. The orphan nuclear receptor Nurr1 was shown to be expressed in developing dopamine neurons before the appearance of known phenotypic markers for these cells. Mice lacking Nurr1 failed to generate midbra in dopaminergic neurons, were hypoactive, and died soon after birth, N urr1 expression continued into adulthood, and brains of heterozygous a nimals, otherwise apparently healthy, contained reduced dopamine level s. These results suggest that putative Nurr1 ligands may be useful for treatment of Parkinson's disease and other disorders of midbrain dopa mine circuitry.