Blockade of NMDA receptors by MK-801 reverses the changes in striatal glutamate immunolabeling in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats

Recovery of motor function is associated with rescue of glutamate biomarkers in the striatum and motor cortex following treatment with Mucuna pruriens in a murine model of Parkinsons disease

There is growing interest in the use of natural products for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). Mucuna pruriens has been used in the treatment of humans with PD. The goal of this study was to determine if daily oral treatment with an extract of Mucuna pruriens, starting after the MPTP-induced loss of nigrostriatal dopamine in male mice, would result in recovery/restoration of motor function, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) protein expression in the nigrostriatal pathway, or glutamate biomarkers in both the striatum and motor cortex. Following MPTP administration, resulting in an 80 % loss of striatal TH, treatment with Mucuna pruriens failed to rescue either striatal TH or the dopamine transporter back to the control levels, but there was restoration of gait/motor function. There was an MPTP-induced loss of TH-labeled neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta and in the number of striatal dendritic spines, both of which failed to be recovered following treatment with Mucuna pruriens. This Mucuna pruriens-induced locomotor recovery following MPTP was associated with restoration of two striatal glutamate transporter proteins, GLAST (EAAT1) and EAAC1 (EAAT3), and the vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (Vglut2) within the motor cortex. Post-MPTP treatment with Mucuna pruriens, results in locomotor improvement that is associated with recovery of striatal and motor cortex glutamate transporters but is independent of nigrostriatal TH restoration.

Exercise in an animal model of Parkinson's disease: Motor recovery but not restoration of the nigrostriatal pathway

Many clinical studies have reported on the benefits of exercise therapy in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Exercise cannot stop the progression of PD or facilitate the recovery of dopamine (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) (Bega et al., 2014). To tease apart this paradox, we utilized a progressive MPTP (1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetra-hydropyridine) mouse model in which we initiated 4weeks of treadmill exercise after the completion of toxin administration (i.e., restoration). We found in our MPTP/exercise (MPTP+EX) group several measures of gait function that recovered compared to the MPTP only group. Although there was a small recovery of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) positive DA neurons in the SNpc and terminals in the striatum, this increase was not statistically significant. These small changes in TH could not explain the improvement of motor function. The MPTP group had a significant 170% increase in the glycosylated/non-glycosylated dopamine transporter (DAT) and a 200% increase in microglial marker, IBA-1, in the striatum. The MPTP+EX group showed a nearly full recovery of these markers back to the vehicle levels. There was an increase in GLT-1 levels in the striatum due to exercise, with no change in striatal BDNF protein expression. Our data suggest that motor recovery was not prompted by any significant restoration of DA neurons or terminals, but rather the recovery of DAT and dampening the inflammatory response. Although exercise does not promote recovery of nigrostriatal DA, it should be used in conjunction with pharmaceutical methods for controlling PD symptoms.

Dopamine-dependent corticostriatal synaptic filtering regulates sensorimotor behavior

Modulation of corticostriatal synaptic activity by dopamine is required for normal sensorimotor behaviors. After loss of nigrostriatal dopamine axons in Parkinson's disease, l-3,4-dihydroxyphenlalanine (l-DOPA) and dopamine D2-like receptor agonists are used as replacement therapy, although these drugs also trigger sensitized sensorimotor responses including dyskinesias and impulse control disorders. In mice, we lesioned dopamine projections to the left dorsal striatum and assayed unilateral sensorimotor deficits with the corridor test as well as presynaptic corticostriatal activity with the synaptic vesicle probe, FM1-43. Sham-lesioned mice acquired food equivalently on both sides, while D2 receptor activation filtered the less active corticostriatal terminals, a response that required coincident co-activation of mGlu-R5 metabotropic glutamate and CB1 endocannabinoid receptors. Lesioned mice did not acquire food from their right, but overused that side following treatment with l-DOPA. Synaptic filtering on the lesioned side was abolished by either l-DOPA or a D2 receptor agonist, but when combined with a CB1 receptor antagonist, l-DOPA or D2 agonists normalized both synaptic filtering and behavior. Thus, high-pass filtering of corticostriatal synapses by the coordinated activation of D2, mGlu-R5, and CB1 receptors is required for normal sensorimotor response to environmental cues.

MK-801 inhibits L-DOPA-induced abnormal involuntary movements only at doses that worsen parkinsonism

Amantadine and dextromethorphan suppress levodopa (L-DOPA)-induced dyskinesia in Parkinson's disease patients and abnormal involuntary movements (AIMs) in the 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) rat model. These medications have been hypothesized to exert their therapeutic effects by a noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist mechanism, but they also have known serotonin (5-HT) indirect agonist effects that could suppress AIMs. This raised the possibility that NMDA antagonists lacking 5-HTergic effects would not have the anti-dyskinetic action predicted by previous investigators. To test this hypothesis, we investigated MK-801, the most widely-studied NMDA antagonist. We found that chronic low-dose MK-801 (0.1 mg/kg) had no effect on development of AIMs or contraversive rotation. In addition, in L-DOPA-primed rats, low-dose MK-801 (0.1 mg/kg) had no effect on expression of AIMs, contraversive rotation, or sensorimotor function. Conversely, higher doses of MK-801 (0.2-0.3 mg/kg) suppressed expression of AIMs. However, as we show for the first time, anti-dyskinetic doses of MK-801 also suppressed L-DOPA-induced contralateral rotation and impaired sensorimotor function, likely due to non-specific interference of MK-801 with L-DOPA-induced behavior. We conclude that noncompetitive NMDA antagonists are unlikely to suppress dyskinesia clinically without worsening parkinsonism.

In vivo imaging of disturbed pre- and post-synaptic dopaminergic signaling via arachidonic acid in a rat model of Parkinson's disease

BACKGROUND

Parkinson's disease involves loss of dopamine (DA)-producing neurons in the substantia nigra, associated with fewer pre-synaptic DA transporters (DATs) but more post-synaptic dopaminergic D2 receptors in terminal areas of these neurons.

HYPOTHESIS

Arachidonic acid (AA) signaling via post-synaptic D2 receptors coupled to cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) will be reduced in terminal areas ipsilateral to a chronic unilateral substantia nigra lesion in rats given D-amphetamine, which reverses the direction of the DAT, but will be increased in rats given quinpirole, a D2-receptor agonist.

METHODS

D-amphetamine (5.0 mg/kg i.p.), quinpirole (1.0 mg/kg i.v.), or saline was administered to unanesthetized rats having a chronic unilateral lesion of the substantia nigra. AA incorporation coefficients, k* (radioactivity/integrated plasma radioactivity), markers of AA signaling, were measured using quantitative autoradiography in 62 bilateral brain regions following intravenous [1-(14)C]AA.

RESULTS

In rats given saline (baseline), k* was elevated in 13 regions in the lesioned compared with intact hemisphere. Quinpirole increased k* in frontal cortical and basal ganglia regions bilaterally, more so in the lesioned than intact hemisphere. D-amphetamine increased k* bilaterally but less so in the lesioned hemisphere.

CONCLUSIONS

Increased baseline elevations of k* and increased responsiveness to quinpirole in the lesioned hemisphere are consistent with their higher D2-receptor and cPLA2 activity levels, whereas reduced responsiveness to D-amphetamine is consistent with dropout of pre-synaptic elements containing the DAT. In vivo imaging of AA signaling using dopaminergic drugs can identify pre- and post-synaptic DA changes in animal models of Parkinson's disease.

Dopamine modulates release from corticostriatal terminals

Normal striatal function is dependent on the availability of synaptic dopamine to modulate neurotransmission. Within the striatum, excitatory inputs from cortical glutamatergic neurons and modulatory inputs from midbrain dopamine neurons converge onto dendritic spines of medium spiny neurons. In addition to dopamine receptors on medium spiny neurons, D2 receptors are also present on corticostriatal terminals, where they act to dampen striatal excitation. To determine the effect of dopamine depletion on corticostriatal activity, we used the styryl dye FM1-43 in combination with multiphoton confocal microscopy in slice preparations from dopamine-deficient (DD) and reserpine-treated mice. The activity-dependent release of FM1-43 out of corticostriatal terminals allows a measure of kinetics quantified by the halftime decay of fluorescence intensity. In DD, reserpine-treated, and control mice, exposure to the D2-like receptor agonist quinpirole revealed modulation of corticostriatal kinetics with depression of FM1-43 destaining. In DD and reserpine-treated mice, quinpirole decreased destaining to a greater extent, and at a lower dose, consistent with hypersensitive corticostriatal D2 receptors. Compared with controls, slices from DD mice did not react to amphetamine or to cocaine with dopamine-releasing striatal stimulation unless the animals were pretreated with l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (l-dopa). Electron microscopy and immunogold labeling for glutamate terminals within the striatum demonstrated that the observed differences in kinetics of corticostriatal terminals in DD mice were not attributable to aberrant cytoarchitecture or glutamate density. Microdialysis revealed that basal extracellular striatal glutamate was normal in DD mice. These data indicate that dopamine deficiency results in morphologically normal corticostriatal terminals with hypersensitive D2 receptors.

Astroglial plasticity and glutamate function in a chronic mouse model of Parkinson's disease

Astrocytes play a major role in maintaining low levels of synaptically released glutamate, and in many neurodegenerative diseases, astrocytes become reactive and lose their ability to regulate glutamate levels, through a malfunction of the glial glutamate transporter-1. However, in Parkinson's disease, there are few data on these glial cells or their regulation of glutamate transport although glutamate cytotoxicity has been blamed for the morphological and functional decline of striatal neurons. In the present study, we use a chronic mouse model of Parkinson's disease to investigate astrocytes and their relationship to glutamate, its extracellular level, synaptic localization, and transport. C57/bl mice were treated chronically with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine and probenecid (MPTP/p). From 4 to 8 weeks after treatment, these mice show a significant loss of dopaminergic terminals in the striatum and a significant increase in the size and number of GFAP-immunopositive astrocytes. However, no change in extracellular glutamate, its synaptic localization, or transport kinetics was detected. Nevertheless, the density of transporters per astrocyte is significantly reduced in the MPTP/p-treated mice when compared to controls. These results support reactive gliosis as a means of striatal compensation for dopamine loss. The reduction in transporter complement on individual cells, however, suggests that astrocytic function may be compromised. Although reactive astrocytes are important for maintaining homeostasis, changes in their ability to regulate glutamate and its associated synaptic functions could be important for the progressive nature of the pathophysiology associated with Parkinson's disease.

Nerve terminal glutamate immunoreactivity in the rat nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area after a short withdrawal from cocaine

Cocaine administration has been shown to alter glutamate transmission in numerous studies. Using quantitative electron microscopic immunogold labeling, our laboratory has previously reported that nerve terminal glutamate immunoreactivity is transiently altered following cocaine administration. The present study was undertaken to examine presynaptic nerve terminal glutamate immunoreactivity at shorter time points after withdrawal from cocaine. Animals received saline or cocaine for 7 days followed 3 days later by a cocaine or saline challenge. Most (>75%) cocaine-challenged animals had a heightened locomotor response to cocaine compared to the first day of cocaine and were considered behaviorally sensitized. One day after the challenge, glutamate immunogold-labeling was quantified in nerve terminals making asymmetrical synaptic contacts within the core and shell of the nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area. A single dose of cocaine did not alter the density of presynaptic nerve terminal glutamate immunoreactivity in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) or ventral tegmental area (VTA). The density of nerve terminal glutamate immunoreactivity in the shell, but not the core, was significantly increased in the animals receiving repeated cocaine. In the VTA the density of nerve terminal glutamate immunoreactivity did not change in the cocaine-sensitized group, but was significantly increased in the nonsensitized group. The finding that repeated cocaine treatment increased glutamate nerve terminal immunolabeling within the nucleus accumbens shell, but not the core, supports the hypothesis that glutamate synapses in the core and shell are differentially sensitive to repeated cocaine administration. Overall, our study does not support a role for changes in presynaptic glutamate in the development of behavioral sensitization.

Lesion of subthalamic or motor thalamic nucleus in 6-hydroxydopamine-treated rats: Effects on striatal glutamate and apomorphine-induced contralateral rotations

A unilateral lesion of the rat nigrostriatal pathway with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) results in a decrease in the basal extracellular level of striatal glutamate, a nearly complete loss of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunolabeling, an increase in the density of glutamate immunogold labeling within nerve terminals making an asymmetrical synaptic contact, and an increase in the number of apomorphine-induced contralateral rotations. [Meshul et al. (1999) Neuroscience 88:1-16; Meshul and Allen (2000) Synapse 36:129-142]. In Parkinson's disease, a lesion of either the subthalamic nucleus (STN) or the motor thalamic nucleus relieves the patient of some of the motor difficulties associated with this disorder. In this rodent model, either the STN or motor thalamic nucleus was electrolytically destroyed 2 months following a unilateral 6-OHDA lesions. Following a lesion of either the STN or motor thalamic nucleus in 6-OHDA-treated rats, there was a significant decrease (40-60%) in the number of apomorphine-induced contralateral rotations compared to the 6-OHDA group. There was a significant decrease (<30%) in the basal extracellular level of striatal glutamate in all of the experimental groups compared to the sham group. Following an STN and/or 6-OHDA lesion, the decrease in striatal extracellular levels was inversely associated with an increase in the density of nerve terminal glutamate immunolabeling. There was no change in nerve terminal glutamate immunogold labeling in either the motor thalamic or motor thalamic plus 6-OHDA lesion groups compared to the sham group. The decrease in the number of apomorphine-induced rotations was not due to an increase in TH immunolabeling (i.e., sprouting) within the denervated striatum. This suggests that alterations in striatal glutamate appear not to be directly involved in the STN or motor thalamic lesion-induced reduction in contralateral rotations.

Nicotine alters striatal glutamate function and decreases the apomorphine-induced contralateral rotations in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats

The overall goal of this study was to determine the effects of subchronic nicotine (0.4 mg/kg) treatment for 7 or 14 days on striatal glutamate function in both naïve and in 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-treated rats in which the nigrostriatal dopamine pathway was lesioned. In lesioned animals, the effect of nicotine on apomorphine-induced contralateral rotations was also assessed. In naïve rats, once daily nicotine administration for 7 or 14 days resulted in a decrease and then an increase, respectively, in the basal extracellular level of striatal glutamate compared to the saline-treated group. Ultrastructurally, 14-day treatment with nicotine resulted in an increase in the density of striatal glutamate immunolabeling within nerve terminals making an asymmetrical synaptic contact compared to the saline-treated group. In 6-OHDA-lesioned animals, coadministration of nicotine with apomorphine or nicotine alone for 7 days resulted in an increase in the density of nerve terminal glutamate immunolabeling, compared to the apomorphine- or saline-treated groups. However, coadministration of nicotine with apomorphine for 14 days resulted in a decrease in the density of nerve terminal glutamate immunolabeling compared to the nicotine-treated group. Following subchronic treatment of 6-OHDA-lesioned rats with apomorphine for 7 or 14 days, there was an increase in the number of apomorphine-induced contralateral rotations compared to the saline treated group. There was a decrease in the number of apomorphine-induced contralateral rotations in the group coadministered nicotine with apomorphine for 7 or 14 days compared to the apomorphine treated group. The data suggests that in this 6-OHDA lesion model of Parkinson's disease, treatment with nicotine may be useful in counteracting the increased behavioral effect (i.e., contralateral rotations) observed after treatment with a dopamine agonist, such as apomorphine.