Dopamine D2 receptor-mediated epidermal growth factor receptor transactivation through a disintegrin and metalloprotease regulates dopaminergic neuron development via extracellular signal-related kinase activation.

Dopamine D2 receptor (D2R)-mediated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation plays an important role in the development of dopaminergic mesencephalic neurons. Here, we demonstrate that D2R induces the shedding of heparin-binding epidermal growth factor (EGF) through the activation of a disintegrin and metalloprotease (ADAM) 10 or 17, leading to EGF receptor transactivation, downstream ERK activation, and ultimately an increase in the number of dopaminergic neurons and their neurite length in primary mesencephalic cultures from wild-type mice. These outcomes, however, were not observed in cultures from D2R knock-out mice. Our findings show that D2R-mediated ERK activation regulates mesencephalic dopaminergic neuron development via EGF receptor transactivation through ADAM10/17.