%0 Journal Article
%A Fitzgerald, Julia C
%A Sun, Ying
%A Reinecke, Frederek
%A Bauer, Elisabeth
%A Garaschuk, Olga
%A Kahle, Philipp J
%A Pfeiffer, Friederike
%T Interactions of Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells and Dopaminergic Neurons in the Mouse Substantia Nigra.
%J Journal of neurochemistry
%V 169
%N 1
%@ 0022-3042
%C Oxford
%I Wiley-Blackwell
%M DZNE-2025-00282
%P e16298
%D 2025
%X Parkinson's disease (PD) is a prevalent neurodegenerative disease caused by the death of dopaminergic neurons within the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) region of the midbrain. Recent genomic and single cell sequencing data identified oligodendrocytes and oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) to confer genetic risk in PD, but their biological role is unknown. Although SNpc dopaminergic neurons are scarcely or thinly myelinated, there is a gap in the knowledge concerning the physiological interactions between dopaminergic neurons and oligodendroglia. We sought to investigate the distribution of OPCs with regard to the myelination state in the mouse substantia nigra (SN) by high-resolution imaging to provide a morphological assessment of OPC-dopaminergic neuron interactions and quantification of cell numbers across different age groups. OPCs are evenly distributed in the midbrain throughout the lifespan and they physically interact with both the soma and axons of dopaminergic neurons. The presence of OPCs and their interaction with dopaminergic neurons does not correlate with the distribution of myelin. Myelination is sparse in the SNpc, including dopaminergic fibers originating from the SNpc and projecting through the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNpr). We report that OPCs and dopaminergic neurons exist in a 1:1 ratio in the SNpc, with OPCs accounting for 15
%K Dopaminergic Neurons: physiology
%K Animals
%K Dopaminergic Neurons: metabolism
%K Mice
%K Substantia Nigra: cytology
%K Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells: metabolism
%K Mice, Inbred C57BL
%K Male
%K Female
%K Myelin Sheath: metabolism
%K Oligodendroglia
%K Cell Communication: physiology
%K Substantia Nigra: metabolism
%K Substantia Nigra: physiology
%K Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells: physiology
%K OPCs (Other)
%K Parkinson's disease (Other)
%K SNpc (Other)
%K dopaminergic neurons (Other)
%K midbrain (Other)
%K mouse brain (Other)
%K oligodendrocyte precursor cells (Other)
%F PUB:(DE-HGF)16
%9 Journal Article
%$ pmid:39871627
%2 pmc:PMC11773302
%R 10.1111/jnc.16298
%U https://pub.dzne.de/record/276319