Short report

Linkage of cDNA expression profiles of mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons to a genome-wide in situ hybridization database

Kambiz N Alavian² and Horst H Simon^1*

• * Corresponding author: Horst H Simon horst.simon@urz.uni-heidelberg.de

Author Affiliations

¹ Interdisciplinary Centre for Neuroscience (IZN) – Ruprecht Karls Universität 69120 Heidelberg, Germany

² Harvard Medical School, Neuroregeneration Labs, MRC 1, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill St, Belmont, MA 02478, USA

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Molecular Neurodegeneration 2009, 4:6 doi:10.1186/1750-1326-4-6

Published: 29 January 2009

Abstract

Midbrain dopaminergic neurons are involved in control of emotion, motivation and motor behavior. The loss of one of the subpopulations, substantia nigra pars compacta, is the pathological hallmark of one of the most prominent neurological disorders, Parkinson's disease. Several groups have looked at the molecular identity of midbrain dopaminergic neurons and have suggested the gene expression profile of these neurons. Here, after determining the efficiency of each screen, we provide a linked database of the genes, expressed in this neuronal population, by combining and comparing the results of six previous studies and verification of expression of each gene in dopaminergic neurons, using the collection of in situ hybridization in the Allen Brain Atlas.