See Borgkvist et al. (doi:) for a scientific commentary on this article.D2 autoreceptors and L-type calcium channels are both implicated in Parkinson’s disease, but how they interact is unclear. Dragicevic et al. reveal that L-type calcium channels can modulate D2-autoreceptor responses via the neuronal calcium sensor NCS-1. This dopamine-dependent signalling network is altered in Parkinson’s disease and could represent a therapeutic target.

Dopamine (DA) releasing midbrain neurons are essential for multiple brain functions, such as voluntary movement, working memory, emotion and cognition. DA midbrain neurons within the substantia nigra (SN) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA) exhibit a variety of distinct axonal projections and cellular properties, and are differentially affected in diseases like schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and Parkinson's disease (PD). Apart from having diverse functions in health and disease states, DA midbrain neurons display distinct electrical activity patterns, crucial for DA release. These activity patterns are generated and modulated by specific sets of ion channels. Recently, two ion channels have been identified, not only contributing to these activity patterns and to functional properties of DA midbrain neurons, but also seem to render SN DA neurons particularly vulnerable to degeneration in PD and its animal models: L-type calcium channels (LTCCs) and ATP-sensitive potassium channels (K-ATPs). In this review, we focus on the emerging physiological and pathophysiological roles of these two ion channels (and their complex interplay with other ion channels), particularly in highly vulnerable SN DA neurons, as selective degeneration of these neurons causes the major motor symptoms of PD.

Degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra causes the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. The mechanisms underlying this age-dependent and region-selective neurodegeneration remain unclear. Here we identify Cav2.3 channels as regulators of nigral neuronal viability. Cav2.3 transcripts were more abundant than other voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in mouse nigral neurons and upregulated during aging. Plasmalemmal Cav2.3 protein was higher than in dopaminergic neurons of the ventral tegmental area, which do not degenerate in Parkinson’s disease. Cav2.3 knockout reduced activity-associated nigral somatic Ca2+ signals and Ca2+-dependent after-hyperpolarizations, and afforded full protection from degeneration in vivo in a neurotoxin Parkinson’s mouse model. Cav2.3 deficiency upregulated transcripts for NCS-1, a Ca2+-binding protein implicated in neuroprotection. Conversely, NCS-1 knockout exacerbated nigral neurodegeneration and downregulated Cav2.3. Moreover, NCS-1 levels were reduced in a human iPSC-model of familial Parkinson’s. Thus, Cav2.3 and NCS-1 may constitute potential therapeutic targets for combatting Ca2+-dependent neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease.