ISSN:
1471-4159
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Exogenous administration of various neurotrophic factors has been shown to protect neurons in animal model of Parkinson's disease (PD). Several attempts are being made to search a tissue source simultaneously expressing many of these neurotrophic factors. Carotid body (CB) contains oxygen-sensitive glomus cells rich in dopamine (DA) and expresses glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and neurotrophin-3. We have attempted to study the functional restoration following co-transplantation of CB cells and ventral mesencephalic cells (VMC) in a 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rat model of PD. A significant recovery (p 〈 0.001) in d-amphetamine-induced circling behavior (80%) and spontaneous locomotor activity (85%) was evident in co-transplanted animals at 12 weeks post-transplantation as compared to lesioned animals. Similarly, a significant (p 〈 0.001) restoration was observed in DA-D2 receptor binding (77%), striatal DA (87%) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) (85%) levels and nigral DA (75%) and DOPAC (74%) levels. Functional recovery was accompanied by tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expression and quantification of TH-positive cells by image analysis revealed a significant restoration in TH-immunoreactive (IR) fiber density in striatum, as well as TH-IR neurons in substantia nigra pars compacta in co-transplanted animals over VMC-transplanted animals. The result suggests that co-transplantation of CB cells along with VMC provides better and long-term functional restoration in the rat model of PD, possibly by supporting the survival of newly grafted cells as well as remaining host DA neurons.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-4159.2004.02715.x
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