A research team from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla has identified a protein in the brain of mice that protects neurons from excessive inflammation, which can lead to neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. Their study, which identifies the protective function of a protein called Nurr1 and defines the pathway by which it works, will be published in the April 3 edition of the journal Cell.

Nurr1 is a transcription factor that has been known for some time to play an essential role in the generation and maintenance of dopaminergic neurons in the brain. Rare mutations in Nurr1 are associated with familial Parkinson’s disease, and the loss of dopaminergic neurons — which are the main source of dopamine in the central nervous system — is associated with the disease. Dopamine helps control multiple brain functions such as movement, attention, pleasure, emotion and motivation. The new findings have uncovered a second and previously unexpected role of the Nurr1 protein in two other cell types in the brain — microglia and astrocytes. The brain’s microglia are macrophage-like cells that are active components of the immune defense in the central nervous system, while astrocytes are large star-shaped cells that normally play important support functions in the brain.
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