Gene expression study of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons in Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 knockout and transgenic mice

The nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons (nDANs) can synthesize and release dopamine, a key neuromodulator involved in motor control and learning, motivation, cognition, and reward. Dysfunction of nDAN-mediated dopamine transmission has been associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), schizophrenia, addiction, and other neurological and phycological disorders. In addition, the nDANs are relatively more vulnerable and preferentially degenerated in PD patients. Multiple mutations in Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene are associated with familial forms of late onset PD. The exploration of gene expression alterations in the Lrrk2 knockout and LRRK2 transgenic mouse nDANs may help to understand the underlying molecular mechanisms of PD-related LRRK2 mutations. We used a line of green fluorescent protein transgenic mice to label the nDANs and the Laser capture microdissection to isolate and collect the nDANs for RNA sequencing.