Journal article

Parkinson’s disease iron deposition caused by nitric oxide- induced loss of β-amyloid precursor protein

X Ayton, X Lei, XJ Hare, JA Duce, JL George, PA Adlard, C McLean, JT Rogers, RA Cherny, DI Finkelstein, XI Bush

Journal of Neuroscience | Published : 2015

Abstract

Elevation of both neuronal iron and nitric oxide (NO) in the substantia nigra are associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD) pathogenesis. We reported previously that the Alzheimer-associated β-amyloid precursor protein (APP) facilitates neuronal iron export. Here we report markedly decreased APP expression in dopaminergic neurons of human PD nigra and that APP-/- mice develop iron-dependent nigral cell loss. Conversely, APP-overexpressing mice are protected in the MPTP PD model. NO suppresses APP translation in mouse MPTP models, explaining how elevated NO causes iron-dependent neurodegeneration in PD.