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Parkinson’s Disease and Related Disorders pp 47–55Cite as

The engrailed transcription factors and the mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons

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Part of the book series: Journal of Neural Transmission. Supplementa ((NEURALTRANS,volume 70))

Summary

The engrailed genes belong to a large family of homeobox transcription factors. They are found throughout the animal kingdom, are highly conserved in the DNA binding domain and have been investigated for more than half a century. In the murine genome, two engrailed genes exist, called Engrailed-1 and Engrailed-2. Here, we summarize the properties of the engrailed genes and their functions, such as conserved structures, cellular localisation, secretion and internalisation, transcription factor activity, potential target genes and review their role in the development of mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons. During early development, they take part in the regionalization event, which specifies the neuroepithelium that provides the precursor cells of the mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons with the necessary signals for their induction. Later in the post-mitotic neurons, the two transcription factors participate in their specification and are cell-autonomously required for their survival.

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  1. Department of Neuroanatomy, Interdisciplinary Center for Neuroscience, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 307, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany

    D. Gherbassi & H. H. Simon

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  1. D. Gherbassi
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  2. H. H. Simon
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Würzburg, Germany

    P. Riederer  & M. Gerlach  & 

  2. Universitätsklinikum der TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany

    H. Reichmann

  3. Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

    M. B. H. Youdim

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Gherbassi, D., Simon, H.H. (2006). The engrailed transcription factors and the mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons. In: Riederer, P., Reichmann, H., Youdim, M.B.H., Gerlach, M. (eds) Parkinson’s Disease and Related Disorders. Journal of Neural Transmission. Supplementa, vol 70. Springer, Vienna . https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-211-45295-0_9

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