Cell Type-Specific Oxidative Stress Genomic Signatures in the Globus Pallidus of Dopamine-Depleted Mice

Neuron subtype dysfunction is a key contributor to neurologic disease circuits, but identifying associated gene regulatory pathways is complicated by the molecular complexity of the brain.

For example, parvalbumin-expressing (PV(+)) neurons in the external globus pallidus (GPe) are critically involved in the motor deficits of dopamine-depleted mouse models of Parkinson's disease, where cell type-specific optogenetic stimulation of PV(+) neurons over other neuron populations rescues locomotion.

Despite the distinct roles these cell types play in the neural circuit, the molecular correlates remain unknown because of the difficulty of isolating rare neuron subtypes.

To address this issue, we developed a new viral affinity purification strategy, Cre-Specific Nuclear Anchored Independent Labeling, to isolate Cre recombinase-expressing (Cre(+)) nuclei from the adult mouse brain.

Applying this technology, we performed targeted assessments of the cell type-specific transcriptomic and epigenetic effects of dopamine depletion on PV(+) and PV(–) cells within three brain regions of male and female mice: GPe, striatum, and cortex.

We found GPe PV(+) neuron-specific gene expression changes that suggested increased hypoxia-inducible factor 2α signaling.

Consistent with transcriptomic data, regions of open chromatin affected by dopamine depletion within GPe PV(+) neurons were enriched for hypoxia-inducible factor family binding motifs.

The gene expression and epigenomic experiments performed on PV(+) neurons isolated by Cre-Specific Nuclear Anchored Independent Labeling identified a transcriptional regulatory network mediated by the neuroprotective factor Hif2a as underlying neural circuit differences in response to dopamine depletion.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Cre-Specific Nuclear Anchored Independent Labeling is an enhanced, virus-based approach to isolate nuclei of a specific cell type for transcriptome and epigenome interrogation that decreases dependency on transgenic animals.

Applying this technology to GPe parvalbumin-expressing neurons in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease, we discovered evidence for an upregulation of the oxygen homeostasis maintaining pathway involving Hypoxia-inducible factor 2α.

These results provide new insight into how neuron subtypes outside the substantia nigra pars compacta may be compensating at a molecular level for differences in the motor production neural circuit during the progression of Parkinson's disease.

Furthermore, they emphasize the utility of cell type-specific technologies, such as Cre-Specific Nuclear Anchored Independent Labeling, for isolated assessment of specific neuron subtypes in complex systems.