Abstract
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the world, being characterized by dopaminergic neurodegeneration of substantia nigra pars compacta. PD pharmacotherapy has been based on dopamine replacement in the striatum with the dopaminergic precursor 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (l-DOPA) and/or with dopaminergic agonists, alongside anticholinergic drugs in order to mitigate the motor abnormalities. However, these practices neither prevent nor stop the progression of the disease. Environmental enrichment (EE) has effectively prevented several neurodegenerative processes, mainly in preclinical trials. Several studies have demonstrated that EE induces biological changes, bearing on cognitive enhancement, neuroprotection, and on the attenuation of the effects of stress, anxiety, and depression. Herein, we investigated whether EE could prevent the motor, biochemical, and molecular abnormalities in a murine model of PD induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-2,3-dihydropyridine (MPTP). Our results show that EE does not prevent the dopaminergic striatal depletion induced by MPTP, despite having averted the MPTP-induced hyperlocomotion. However, it was able to slow down and avoid, respectively, the 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA) depletion. Analysis of dopaminergic mRNA alterations in the midbrain showed that D1R expression was increased by MPTP, while the normal expression level of this receptor was restored by EE. As for the cholinergic system, MPTP led to a decrease in the ChAT gene expression while increasing the expression of both AChE and M1R. EE attenuated and prevented—respectively—ChAT and M1R gene expression alterations triggered by MPTP in the midbrain. Overall, our data brings new evidence supporting the neuroprotective potential of EE in PD, focusing on the interaction between dopaminergic and cholinergic systems.
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Abbreviations
- 5-HT:
-
Serotonin
- ACh:
-
Acetylcholine
- AChE:
-
Acetylcholinesterase
- ChAT:
-
Choline acetyltransferase
- ChIs:
-
Cholinergic interneurons
- D1R:
-
Dopaminergic receptor 1
- D2R:
-
Dopaminergic receptor 2
- DA:
-
Dopamine
- DAergic:
-
Dopaminergic
- DAT:
-
Dopamine transporter
- DOPAC:
-
3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic acid
- EE:
-
Environmental enrichment
- EM:
-
Enriched environment MPTP
- ES:
-
Enriched environment saline
- HVA:
-
Homovanillic acid
- l-DOPA:
-
3,4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine
- M1R:
-
Muscarine receptor M1
- MAO A:
-
Monoamine oxidase A
- MAO B:
-
Monoamine oxidase B
- MPTP:
-
1-Methyl-4-phenyl-2,3-dihydropyridine
- NE:
-
Norepinephrine
- PD:
-
Parkinson’s disease
- SM:
-
Standard environment MPTP
- SNpc:
-
Substantia nigra pars compacta
- SNr:
-
Substantia nigra pars reticulata
- SS:
-
Standard environment saline
- TH:
-
Tyrosine hydroxylase
- α7NR:
-
Alpha 7 nicotinic receptor
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank the Health Sciences Center facility Laboratório de Análises Biomoleculares (LABIOM). This work was supported by Conselho Nacional de Ciencia e Tecnologia (grant 479243/2013-1), Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Espirito Santo (grant 0603/2015) and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES).
Author Contributions
RGWP and CMS were responsible for the study concept and all experimental designs. WFH contributed with data acquisition and analysis and drafted the manuscript. ALH and LAAM provided essential critical analysis of the manuscript. LSM was responsible for dopamine and metabolites assessment. TAAF and TESA were responsible for qPCR assays.
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Hilario, W.F., Herlinger, A.L., Areal, L.B. et al. Cholinergic and Dopaminergic Alterations in Nigrostriatal Neurons Are Involved in Environmental Enrichment Motor Protection in a Mouse Model of Parkinson’s Disease. J Mol Neurosci 60, 453–464 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12031-016-0831-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12031-016-0831-7