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Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder that is characterised by akinesia, muscular rigidity, and postural instability, due primarily to the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and depletion of upstream dopamine in the striatum. Current dopaminergic treatments reduce motor symptoms, but have diminishing benefits as the disease progresses. Treatment with the neuroactive steroid natural progesterone (PROG) improves outcomes in many experimental models of brain injury due to its pleiotropic mechanisms of neuroprotection, many of which may also benefit PD. This thesis investigated the influence of PROG on motor impairments in the unilateral intrastriatal 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesion model of PD in rats. We established a PD-like impairment with a d-amphetamine induced rotation test at day 7 after large lesions and then administered PROG (4 mg/kg or 8 mg/kg) once daily for 7 days starting at day 8. Both PROG doses markedly improved the primary outcome measure, forelimb akinesia on the adjusting steps test, with improvement sustained for six weeks after treatment had stopped. In a second study the beneficial influence of PROG (8 mg/kg) on akinesia was replicated for rats with large lesions and was extended to rats with small lesions so that the latter rats were now similar to sham operated controls. We also found that PROG modestly improved postural instability of the ipsilateral forelimb on the postural instability test, and sensorimotor integration on the whisker test, but did not improve skilled reaching accuracy on a single-pellet reaching task, forelimb use asymmetry on the cylinder test, sensory neglect on the corridor test, or rotation bias after apomorphine. Furthermore, PROG did not change striatal tyrosine hydroxylase density when assessed in rats with large lesions. This study has provided the most thorough examination to date regarding PROG’s influence on motor skills in an animal model of PD. Furthermore, this study has produced novel evidence of the beneficial effects of PROG treatment on forelimb akinesia. These initial promising findings suggest that PROG is an effective therapy for akinesia and thus provides an impetus to further investigate PROG’s efficacy for the treatment of PD.

Vagal and spinal sensory innervation is responsible for the regulation of neurogenic inflammation in the airways. Neurogenic inflammation is the result of the activation of sensory nerve endings by stimulant and induced through axon reflex to release neuropeptides from sensory nerve endings. These neuropitides are tachykinins, including substance P, neurokinin A and neuronkinin B. Tachykinin-1 (NK-1) receptors are mainly involved in neurogenic inflammation in the airway. It is found that 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) acts as a stimulant of sensory neurons that produces inflammation in the rat trachea. The magnitude of plasma leakage was expressed by the area density (%) of India ink-labeled blood vessels in tissue whole mounts. The present study found that area density of India ink-labeled blood vessel were 36.5%, 29.5%, 27.7%, 28.2%, 19.2%, 15.5% in the rat larynx, trachea, left bronchus, right bronchus, upper esophagus and distal esophagus after i.v. injection of 6-OHDA (100 mg /Kg), respectively. 6-OHDA could stimulate sensory neurons by free radicals that produced by non-enzymatic oxidation. NK-1 receptor antagonist can inhibit plasma leakage in airways. This study also tested the effect of a free radical scavenger. Rats are pretreated with a full dose (2.25 g/kg, i.v.) or lower doses of dimethylthiourea (DMTU) for a period of 15 min. We found that pretreatment with a full dose of DMTU could inhibit inflammatory plasma leakage induced by 6-OHDA, that was 4.8%, 1.6%, 1.1%, 2.4%, 0.4% and 1.0% in the rat larynx, trachea, left bronchus, right bronchus, upper esophagus and distal esophagus, respectively. It is suggested hydroxyl radicals mediated the inflammatory response in the respiratory tract and esophagus. DMTU dose-dependently decreased 6-OHDA-induced plasma leakage in the rat respiratory tract and esophagus. One sixth dose was effective in inhibition in esophagus. 6-OHDA-induced inflammation in the left and right bronchus could be reduced with 2/3 dose of DMTU. A full dose of DMTU (2.25g/Kg) was needed to inhibit inflammation in the larynx and trachea. It is concluded that sensitivity to 6-OHDA was different in the different part of lower airways and esophagus.

Circadian clocks are responsible for daily rhythms in gastrointestinal function which are vital for normal digestive rhythms and health. The present study examines the roles of the circadian pacemaker, the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), and the sympathetic nervous system in regulation of circadian gastrointestinal rhythms in Mus musculus. Surgical ablation of the SCN abolishes circadian locomotor, feeding, and stool output rhythms when animals are presented with food ad libitum, while restricted feeding reestablishes these rhythms temporarily. In intact mice, chemical sympathectomy with 6- hydroxydopamine has no effect on feeding and locomotor rhythmicity, but attenuates stool output rhythms. Again, restricted feeding reestablishes these rhythms. Ex vivo, intestinal tissue from mPer2LUC knockin mice expresses circadian rhythms of luciferase bioluminescence. 6-hydroxydopamine has little effect upon these rhythms, but timed administration of β−adrenergic agonist isoproterenol causes a phase-dependent phase shift in PERIOD2 expression rhythms. Collectively, the data suggest the SCN are required to maintain feeding, locomotor and stool output rhythms during ad libitum conditions, acting at least in part through daily activation of sympathetic activity. Even so, this input is not necessary for entrainment to timed feeding, which may be the province of oscillators within the intestines themselves or other components of the gastrointestinal system.

Thèse (Ph. D.) -- Université Laval, 1997. / Bibliogr.: f. 176-200. Publié aussi en version électronique.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico / A doenÃa de Parkinson (DP) à a segunda doenÃa neurodegenerativa mais comum afetando cerca de 1% da populaÃÃo mundial. Fatores ambientais e genÃticos poderÃo interagir e contribuir para o desenvolvimento da doenÃa. A 6-hidroxidopamina (6-OHDA) à uma neurotoxina que age em neurÃnios catecolaminÃrgicos, atravÃs da formaÃÃo de espÃcies reativas do oxigÃnio e inibiÃÃo do complexo I da cadeia transportadora de elÃtrons. A berberina à um alcalÃide isoquinolÃnico natural, com atividade antioxidante e aÃÃo na membrana mitocondrial. O presente estudo teve como objetivo investigar a atividade citoprotetora da berberina em modelo de degeneraÃÃo celular induzida pela 6-OHDA em cultura de cÃlulas SH-SY5Y. A berberina (10, 25 e 50Âg/mL) foi adicionada as cÃlulas 15 minutos antes da 6-OHDA 50ÂM, apÃs 24 horas foram feitos os testes para avaliaÃÃo da viabilidade celular (MTT e iodeto de propÃdeo- IP), estresse oxidativo (nitrito, TBARS â quantificaÃÃo de malondialdeÃdo), morfologia/apoptose (hematoxilina/eosina, brometo de etÃdeo/laranja de acridina) e potencial transmembrÃnico mitocondrial (rodamina 123). A 6-OHDA reduziu significativamente a viabilidade celular (Controle: MTT= 99,62%, IP= 98,63%; 6-OHDA: MTT=49,79%, IP= 48,80%), aumentou os nÃveis de nitrito (71,8%) e de malondialdeÃdo (27%). Foi observado fragmentaÃÃo e reduÃÃo do volume celular, perda dos neuritos, grande percentagem de cÃlulas apoptÃticas e necrÃticas (Controle: viÃveis= 95,5%, apoptÃticas= 2,67%, necrÃticas= 1,83%; 6-OHDA:viÃveis= 23,75%, apoptÃticas= 61,92, necrÃticas= 14,34%) e elevou em 56% o nÃmero de cÃlulas que apresentam despolarizaÃÃo mitocondrial. A berberina protegeu significativamente (p<0,05) as cÃlulas dos danos induzidos pela 6-OHDA, elevando a viabilidade celular para (MTT: BERB 25 + 6-OHDA= 68,4; BERB 50 + 6-OHDA= 79%. IP: BERB 25 + 6-OHDA= 61; BERB 50 + 6-OHDA= 58%), reduziu os nÃveis de nitrito (BERB 25+ 6-OHDA= 6,16; BERB 50 + 6-OHDA= 6,20 ÂM) e malondialdeÃdo (BERB 25+ 6-OHDA= 8,53; BERB 50 + 6-OHDA= 6,8 ÂM) AlÃm disso, a berberina reduziu as alteraÃÃes na morfologia celular, na morte por apoptose (BERB 25 + 6-OHDA=apoptose-26,51%; BERB 50 + 6-OHDA= apoptose-30,32%) e o nÃmero de cÃlulas com despolarizaÃÃo mitocondrial (BERB 25+ 6-OHDA= 7,58; BERB 50 + 6-OHDA= 12,9%). Esses resultados mostram a citoproteÃÃo pela berberina, por seu efeito antiapoptÃtico, que pode estar relacionado a uma proteÃÃo mitocondrial e uma aÃÃo antioxidante. Deste modo, podemos sugerir que a berberina pode ser explorada como possÃvel agente neuroprotetor para doenÃa de Parkinson. / Parkinsonâs disease is the second more common neurodegenerative sickness and it affects about 1% of the world population. Environment and genetics factors may interact and contribute to the diseaseâs development. The 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) is a neurotoxin that acts on catecholaminergic neurons throughthe formation of reactive oxygen species and inhibition of the electron transport chainâs complex I. The berberine is a natural isoquinolinium alkaloid with antioxidant activity and action in the mitochondrial membrane. The present study aimed to investigate the cytoprotective activity of berberine in cell degeneration model induced by 6-OHDA in cultured SH-SY5Y cell. Berberine (10, 25 and 50 Âg/mL) was added to the cells 15 minutes before 6-OHDA 50ÂM and, after 24 hours, the tests were made for evaluation of cellular viability (MTT and propidium iodide-IP), oxidative stress (nitrite, TBARS), morphology/apoptosis (hematoxilin/eosin, ethidium bromide/acridine orange) and mitochondrial transmembrane potencial (rhodamine 123). 6-OHDA reduced significantly the cellular viability (Control: MTT=99,62%, IP=98,63%; 6-OHDA: MTT=49,79%, IP= 48,80%), increased the nitrite (71,8%) and the malondialdehyde levels (27%). It was observed fragmentation and reduction of cell volume, loss of neuritis, large percentage of apoptotic and necrotic cells (Control: viable=23,75%, apoptotic=61,92%, necrotic=1,83%; 6-OHDA: viable= 23,75%, apoptotic= 61,92%, necrotic= 14,34%) and of cells with mitochondrial depolarization 56%. Berberine significantly protected (p<0,05) cells from damage induced by 6-OHDA, increasing cell viability (MTT: BERB 25 + 6-OHDA= 68,10  4,49; BERB 50 + 6-OHDA= 78,81 2,31%. IP: BERB 25 + 6-OHDA= 60,38  0,92; BERB 50 + 6-OHDA= 57,45  1,33%), reduced nitrite (BERB 25 + 6-OHDA= 6,16  0,42; BERB 50 + 6-OHDA= 6,20  0,40ÂM) and malondialdehyde levels (BERB 25+ 6-OHDA= 8,53; BERB 50 + 6-OHDA= 6,8 ÂM). Furthermore, berberine reduced morphology cell alterations, apoptotic death (BERB 25 + 6-OHDA= apoptosis-26,51%; BERB 50 + 6-OHDA= apoptosis-30,32%) and number of cells with mitochondrial depolarization (BERB 25+ 6-OHDA= 7,58; BERB 50 + 6-OHDA= 12,9%). These results show that the cytoprotection of berberine, possibly by its antiapoptotic effects, may be related to a mitochondrial protection and/or an antioxidant action. Thus, we suggest that berberine may be prospected as a possible neuroprotective agent for Parkinsonâs disease.

The present study was designed to investigate the role of pre- and postnatal manganese (Mn) exposure on hydroxyl radical (HO•) formation in the brains of dopamine (DA) partially denervated rats (Parkinsonian rats). Wistar rats were given tap water containing 10,000 ppm manganese chloride during the duration of pregnancy and until the time of weaning. Control rat dams consumed tap water without added Mn. Three days after birth, rats of both groups were treated with 6-hydroxydopamine at one of three doses (15, 30, or 67 µg, intraventricular on each side), or saline vehicle. We found that Mn content in the brain, kidney, liver, and bone was significantly elevated in dams exposed to Mn during pregnancy. In neonates, the major organs that accumulated Mn were the femoral bone and liver. However, Mn was not elevated in tissues in adulthood. To determine the possible effect on generation of the reactive species, HO• in Mn-induced neurotoxicity, we analyzed the contents of 2.3- and 2.5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (spin trap products of salicylate; HO• being an index of in vivo HO• generation), as well as antioxidant enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) isoenzymes and glutathione S-transferase (GST). 6-OHDA-depletion of DA produced enhanced HO• formation in the brain tissue of newborn and adulthood rats that had been exposed to Mn, and the latter effect did not depend on the extent of DA denervation. Additionally, the extraneuronal, microdialysate, content of HO• in neostriatum was likewise elevated in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats. Interestingly, there was no difference in extraneuronal HO• formation in the neostriatum of Mn-exposed versus control rats. In summary, findings in this study indicate that Mn crosses the placenta but in contrast to other heavy metals, Mn is not deposited long term in tissues. Also, damage to the dopaminergic system acts as a “trigger mechanism,” initiating a cascade of adverse events leading to a protracted increase in HO• generation, and the effects of Mn and 6-OHDA are compounded. Moreover, HO• generation parallels the suppression of SOD isoenzymes and GST in the brains of rats lesioned with 6-OHDA and/or intoxicated with Mn—the most prominent impairments being in frontal cortex, striatum, and brain stem. In conclusion, ontogenetic Mn exposure, resulting in reactive oxygen species, HO• formation, represents a risk factor for dopaminergic neurotoxicity and development of neurodegenerative disorders.

The characteristics feature of neurotoxicity is a definable lesion which can account for observed deficits, corresponding to loss of nuclei or axonal fibers normally comprising a specific pathway or tract. However, with ontogenetic lesions, the operative definition fails. In rats lesioned as neonates with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), near-total destruction of dopamine-(DA-) containing nerves is produced, and this itself is definable. However, the most prominent feature of rats so-lesioned is the DA receptor supersensitivity (DARSS) that develops and then persists throughtout the lifespan. DA D1 receptors show overt supersensitivity to agonists producing vacuous chewing movements (VCMs), while D1 receptors associated with locomotor activity have a latent supersensitivity that must be unmasked by repeated D1 or D2 agonist treatments - a 'priming' phenomenon. This D1 DARSS is not usually associated in either a change in D1 receptor number (Bmax) or affinity (Kd). In contrast to D1 DARSS, D2 receptors are not so predictably supersensitized by a lession of DA neurons. In reality, the permanently exaggerated response to an agonist by supersensitized receptors is per se a manifestation of neurotoxicity. Despite dramatic behavioral responses mediated by supersensitized receptors, DARSS has not been easy to correlate with enhanced production of second messengers or early response genes. Altered signaling (i.e., neuronal cross-talk) in defined pathways may represent the mechanism that produces so-called receptor supersensitization. Longlived agonist-induced behavioral abnormality, with or without anatomic evidence of a neuronal lesion, is one of the products of DA D1 receptor supersensitization - it self an index of neurotoxicity.

Rats lesioned shortly after birth with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA; 134 μg icv) represent a near-ideal model of severe Parkinson's disease because of the near-total destruction of nigrostriatal dopaminergic fibers. There are scarce data that in Parkinson's disease, activity of the central histaminergic system is increased. The element manganese, an essential cofactor for many enzymatic reactions, itself in toxic amount, replicates some clinical features similar to those of Parkinson's disease. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of neonatal manganese exposure on 6-OHDA modeling of Parkinson's disease in rats, and to determine effects on histamine content in the brain of these rats in adulthood. Manganese (MnCl 2•4H 2O; 10,000 ppm) was included in the drinking water of pregnant Wistar rats from the time of conception until the 21st day after delivery, the age when neonatal rats were weaned. Control rats consumed tap water. Other groups of neonatal rat pups, on the 3rd day after birth, were pretreated with desipramine (20 mg/kg ip 1 h) prior to bilateral icv administration of 6-OHDA (60 or 134 μg) or its vehicle saline-ascorbic (0.1%) (control). At 2 months after birth, in rats lesioned with 60 or 134 μg 6-OHDA, endogenous striatal dopamine (DA) content was reduced, respectively, by 92 and 98% (HPLC/ED), while co-exposure of these groups to perinatal manganese did not magnify the DA depletion. However, there was prominent enhancement of histamine content in frontal cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus, and medulla oblongata of adult rat brain after 6-OHDA (60 and 134 μg) injection on the day 3rd postnatal day. These findings indicate that histamine and the central histaminergic system are altered in the brain of rats lesioned to model Parkinson's disease, and that manganese enhances effects of 6-OHDA on histamine in brain.

Melatonin has a neuroprotective function, which is mediated via its G-protein-coupled MT1 and MT2 receptors. When activated, various downstream pathways are triggered promoting cell protection and survival. By utilizing this function of melatonin, studies have shown positive effects in animal models of neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease (PD). In our previous studies, a physiological dose of melatonin was shown to have neuroprotective effects in the nigrostriatal pathway, as indicated by preservation of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunoreactivity in a 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) model of PD. We also have reported that transplantation of MT1 receptor-expressing mouse neural stem cells (C17.2) along with melatonin treatment, preserved TH immunoreactivity in a similar PD model. Moreover, others have reported an increase in striatal melatonin levels in 6-OHDA-induced hemiparkinsonian rats. Based on these implications of a close relationship between the dopaminergic and melatonergic systems, we hypothesize that degeneration of dopaminergic neurons induced by 6-OHDA will affect the melatonergic system in the nigrostriatal pathway. In this study, 6-hydroxydopamine was unilaterally injected in the rat striatum or medial forebrain bundle. An apomorphine rotation test showed significant increases in net contralateral rotations (p<0.01) in lesioned animals as compared to sham. Also, a loss of TH immunoreactivity in the striatum and substantia nigra was seen in striatum lesioned groups, confirming lesion-induced degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the nigrostriatal pathway. There were no significant differences in MT1 receptor protein expression in the striatum and substantia nigra, between all intrastriatal lesioned groups and the sham group. However, 6-OHDA lesions in the medial forebrain bundle caused a significant increase in MT1 receptor mRNA expression on the lesioned side (right) of the ventral midbrain as compared with the contralateral side. These results suggest that MT1 receptors are upregulated in the ventral midbrain following lesion-induced dopaminergic neurodegeneration, and may be involved in an endogenous neuroprotective mechanism. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)