PUBLICATION

An optimized method for counting dopaminergic neurons in zebrafish

Authors
Matsui, H., Sugie, A.
ID
ZDB-PUB-170908-2
Date
2017
Source
PLoS One   12: e0184363 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Matsui, Hideaki
Keywords
Neurons, Dopaminergics, Zebrafish, Locus coeruleus, Parkinson disease, Fish, Mammals, Tyrosine
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Dopaminergic Neurons/cytology*
  • Dopaminergic Neurons/drug effects
  • Dopaminergic Neurons/metabolism*
  • Oxidopamine/pharmacology
  • Parkinson Disease/genetics
  • Parkinson Disease/metabolism
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases/genetics
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases/metabolism
  • Zebrafish
PubMed
28880915 Full text @ PLoS One
Abstract
In recent years, considerable effort has been devoted to the development of a fish model for Parkinson's disease (PD) to examine the pathological mechanisms of neurodegeneration. To effectively evaluate PD pathology, the ability to accurately and reliably count dopaminergic neurons is important. However, there is currently no such standardized method. Due to the relatively small number of dopaminergic neurons in fish, stereological estimation would not be suitable. In addition, serial sectioning requires proficiency to not lose any sections, and it permits double counting due to the large size of some of the dopaminergic neurons. In this study, we report an optimized protocol for staining dopaminergic neurons in zebrafish and provide a reliable counting method. Finally, using our optimized protocol, we confirmed that administration of 6-hydroxydopamine (a neurotoxin) or the deletion of the PINK1 gene (one of the causative genes of familiar PD) in zebrafish caused significant reduction in the number of dopaminergic and noradrenergic neurons. In summary, this method will serve as an important tool for the appropriate evaluation and establishment of fish PD models.
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Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
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Mapping