engleski

Do subthalamic and substantia nigra neurons share common neuronal lineage?

The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is a small, biconvex nucleus in the diencephalon, lying rostrally from the internal capsule to substantia nigra caudally. To this day, two theories have been postulated about the developmental origin of the STN. One theory proposes that the STN originates from the separate longitudinal subthalamic zone between the ventral thalamus and the hypothalamus, while the other suggests that the nucleus originates from the germinative zone lying caudally from the mammillary recess. Novel studies investigating the development of mesencephalic dopaminergic (mesDA) neurons suggested, based on the expression profile of several transcriptional factors, that STN and mesDA neurons may have common neuronal lineage. However, the results of these studies are inconsistent and sometimes conflicting. Furthermore, majority of published studies were conducted using mouse brain, therefore leaving the question of possible interspecies differences unanswered. To further explore these developmental theories, we employed immunohistochemical staining to study the expression of several transcription factors (Foxp1, Foxp2, Foxa1, Barhl1, Dbx1, Nkx2.1) in the STN and SN of adult mouse, rat, and human. Data from our preliminary study indicate that some STN and SN neuronal populations have a common neuronal lineage, although some of the aforementioned transcription factors are expressed exclusively in the STN. These transcription factors could help us unravel the mystery of the STN development

Human brain development, Immunohistochemistry, Subthalamic nucleus, Substantia nigra, Transcription factors

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