Nurr1 is an orphan nuclear receptor and a member of the nerve growth factor I-B subfamily of transcription factors with no known endogenous ligand or stimulator. We show, for the first time, evidence that Nurr1 is expressed in a panel of 11 human bladder cancer cell lines. A new class of methylene-substituted diindolylmethanes (C-DIM) were screened and 1,1-bis(3'-indolyl)-1-(p-chlorophenyl)meth...

BACKGROUND Nurr1, a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily of transcription factors, is highly expressed in midbrain dopaminergic (DA) neurons. Ret is a member of the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) superfamily and a critical signal transducing subunit of receptors for glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF). Both Nurr1 and Ret play important roles in the development of DA neurons...

BACKGROUND Nurr1 plays an essential role in the development, survival, and function maintenance of midbrain dopaminergic (DA) neurons, and it is a potential target for Parkinson's disease (PD). Nurr1 mRNA can be detected in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), but whether there is any association of altered Nurr1 expression in PBMC with the disease and DA drug treatments remains elusive....

The nuclear receptor nurr1 is a transcription factor involved in the development and maintenance of neurons synthesizing the neurotransmitter dopamine. Although the lack of nurr1 expression has dramatic consequences for these cells either in terms of differentiation or survival, the mechanisms by which nurr1 controls gene transcription still remain unclear. In the intent to understand better th...

Nurr1, an orphan nuclear receptor, plays 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, but the underlying basis for this relationship has not been established. Here, we demonstrate that Nurr1 unexpectedly functions to inhibit expression of pro-inflammatory neurotoxic mediators i...

Previous studies implicate that activation of thromboxane A(2) receptor (TP) induced cell proliferation and transformation in several cell lines. We report here that the activation of TP by its agonist, [1S-[1alpha, 2alpha (Z), 3beta (1E, 3S*), 4alpha]]-7-[3-[3-hydroxy-4-(4-iodophenoxy)-1-butenyl]-7-oxabicyclo [2.2.1] hept-2-yl]-5-heptenoic acid (I-BOP), induced Nurr1 expression and stimulated ...

Nurr1 is a member of the nuclear receptor 4 family of orphan nuclear receptors that is decreased in inflammatory responses and leads to neurons death in Parkinson's disease. Abnormal expression of Nurr1 have been attributed to various signaling pathways, but little is known about microRNAs (miRNAs) regulation of Nurr1 in ischemia/reperfusion injury. To investigate the post transcriptional regul...

The recently solved crystal structure of the orphan nuclear receptor (NR) Nurr1 ligand-binding domain (LBD) showed that Nurr1 lacks a cavity for ligand binding and a canonical NR co-activator-binding site. Computer modeling of the Nurr1 LBD structure identified a hydrophobic region on the surface of the Nurr1 LBD that was positioned on the opposite side from the classical co-activator-binding s...

Developmental transcription factors important in early neuron specification and differentiation often remain expressed in the adult brain. However, how these transcription factors function to mantain appropriate neuronal identities in adult neurons and how transcription factor dysregulation may contribute to disease remain largely unknown. The transcription factor Nurr1 has been associated with...

Neural stem/progenitor cell (NSC/NPC) cultures can be a source of dopamine (DA) neurons for experimental and transplantation purposes. Nurr1, a steroid receptor transcription factor, can overcome the limitations associated with differentiation of cultured NPCs into DA neurons. However, forced Nurr1 expression in NPC cultures generates non-neuronal and/or immature DA cells. We show here that the...