UNASSIGNED: Adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) have become powerful tools in neuroscience for both basic research and potential therapeutic use. They have become especially important tools for optogenetic experiments based on their ability to achieve transgene expression in postmitotic neurons with regional selectivity. With the use of appropriate promoter elements they can achieve cellular specificity as well. One population of neurons that plays a central role in @entity1 neurodegenerative and @entity146 diseases are the @entity935 neurons of the midbrain. To study these neurons in vivo with advanced techniques it would be highly advantageous to characterize an appropriate specific promoter. To this end we have characterized a 2.5-kb sequence of the @entity35 @entity4149 hydroxylase ( @entity68883 ) promoter. The @entity68883 (2.5) promoter induced expression of the fluorescent reporter protein mCherry in SN @entity935 neurons. Although it showed excellent specificity in cortex and striatum, where no reporter expression was observed, in the SN region many neurons expressed reporter but not @entity68883 . We show that some of the @entity68883 negativity is due to the suppression of its expression by the transgene. We conclude that @entity68883 (2.5) does preferentially label @entity935 neurons but its specificity is not complete within the substantia nigra and caution must be used.

A quantitative evaluation of a 2.5-kb @entity35 XXXX hydroxylase promoter to target expression in ventral mesencephalic @entity935 neurons in vivo.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['human'] @entity146 :: ('MESH:D001523', 'Disease') :: ['psychiatric'] @entity935 :: ('MESH:D004298', 'Chemical') :: ['dopamine'] @entity68883 :: ('25128(Tax:10116)', 'Gene') :: ['rTHp', 'TH'] @entity35 :: ('10116', 'Species') :: ['rat'] @entity4149 :: ('D014443', 'Chemical') :: ['tyrosine']
@entity4149 :: (D014443,Chemical) :: ['tyrosine']
