Biochemical mechanisms underlying MPTP-induced and idiopathic parkinsonism. New vistas.
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The MPTP monkey model for PD has continued to display similarities as well as differences from the human disease, also in respect to its neuropathology. In 65 MPTP-treated squirrel monkeys with survival for more than 2 days, the main similarities consisted of nerve cell degeneration, not only of SN, but also, in the majority of cases, of the LC. In 13 animals that survived for from 1 to 7 years after their first exposure to MPTP, the nerve cells in the ventrolateral portion of the SN compacta were particularly vulnerable, just as in PD. The principal differences were the lack of progression of the disease process in these long-term animals (although this has yet to be systematically tested) and the absence of formation of typical Lewy bodies in the SN, LC, and other predilection sites for Lewy bodies. Since inclusion bodies, now observed in 16 monkeys, could be produced fairly consistently in aged MPTP-treated squirrel monkeys, they appeared to represent a bridge between these similarities and differences. They had some features, especially their location in predilection sites for Lewy bodies, such as the SN, in common with Lewy bodies, but did not display the fully convincing morphological and immunocytochemical features, characteristics of the human inclusion bodies in PD. Overall, these studies continue to provide tantalizing hints that this model could lead to important new insights into the pathologic process that underlies PD.
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1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) induces a Parkinson-like syndrome through biotransformation by monoamine oxidase B to the neurotoxic metabolite 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridine. Neuroprotection may be provided by parallel N-demethylation and N-oxidation pathways mediated by the microsomal cytochrome P450 and flavin monooxygenase systems, respectively. The aims of this study were to characterise the N-demethylation of MPTP by human liver microsomes over a wide range of concentrations, and to identify the cytochrome P450 enzymes involved in this reaction. The kinetics of the N-demethylation of MPTP (1 microM - 3 mM) by microsomes from the liver of an extensive metabolizer with respect to cytochrome P4502D6 (CYP2D6) activity were biphasic (apparent Km1 and Km2 values = 48 and 2882 microM). The high affinity activity was abolished in the presence of quinidine (1 microM) and was absent in microsomes from a genotypically poor metabolizer with respect to CYP2D6. Yeast microsomes containing heterologously expressed CYP2D6 N-demethylated MPTP (Km = 39 microM), and there was a high correlation between the quinidine-inhibitable N-demethylation of MPTP (50 microM) (0.7-91%, mean 44%, of total activity) and the alpha-hydroxylation of metoprolol in microsomes from 11 human livers (rs = 0.92; P < .001). At 50 microM MPTP, N-demethylase activity in human liver microsomes was also inhibited by furafylline (10 microM) and ketoconazole (2 microM) (mean inhibition 39 and 13%, respectively; n = 11 livers). Yeast microsomes containing heterologously expressed human CYP1A2 N-demethylated MPTP with a Km of 2246 microM. These findings indicate that CYP2D6, CYP1A2 and, to a lesser extent CYP3A4, may have a role in protecting against Parkinson's disease induced by MPTP and other potential environmental neurotoxins. The data provide some biochemical support for the proposition that genotypically poor metabolizers with respect to CYP2D6 are overrepresented in some populations of Parkinson's patients, and that smokers (induced CYP1A2?) are underrepresented.
Following MPTP administration, monkeys manifest cognitive deficits on tasks known to assess the fronto-striatal system; there are, however, no data regarding long-term cognitive effects. In this study, we examined the cognitive abilities of monkeys 10 years after MPTP administration. MPTP-treated monkeys and age-matched controls performed a spatial delayed response task with fixed and random delays. The MPTP-treated monkeys were impaired in both versions of the task. Both groups performed at the same level at very short delays suggesting that the nature of the impairment is related to a spatial memory deficit that is still apparent 10 years after treatment. These results suggest that, like Parkinson's patients, the MPTP-treated primates display spatial deficits.
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Administration of the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) analog 1-methyl-4-(2'-aminophenyl)-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (2'-NH2-MPTP; 4 x 15 mg/kg) to CD-1 mice was found to cause substantial decreases in cortical and hippocampal 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and norepinephrine (NE) to 20-30% of control 3 weeks after treatment. The magnitude of these depletions was similar to those reported previously in Swiss Webster and C57BL/6 mice given 4 x 20 mg/kg 2'-NH2-MPTP, and in keeping with these prior studies, striatal dopamine levels were unchanged by 2'-NH2-MPTP treatment in CD-1 mice. Subsequently, transgenic CD-1 mice producing high levels of human cytosolic Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD) were studied to assess the role of oxygen radicals in the mechanism of action of 2'-NH2-MPTP. In contrast to the results described above, 5-HT and NE levels were almost completely unaffected by 2'-NH2-MPTP treatment in homozygous SOD mice bearing 5-fold increases in brain SOD activity. In 2'-NH2-MPTP-treated heterozygous SOD mice, which showed an average 3-fold increase in brain SOD activity, only moderate depletions in cortical and hippocampal 5-HT (50-60% of control) and NE (30-40% of control) were observed. Additionally, the density of [125I]RTI-55-labeled 5-HT uptake sites was studied to further assess possible 5-HT terminal loss. In various cortical and hippocampal subregions of nontransgenic mice, 5-HT uptake sites were reduced to 20-35% of control after 2'-NH2-MPTP treatment, in comparison with homozygous SOD mice, which were affected only minimally by 2'-NH2-MPTP administration, and heterozygous SOD mice, which showed intermediate reductions in 5-HT uptake site density on the order of 55-80% of control. Together, these data indicate that mice genetically endowed with increased SOD activity are protected from 2'-NH2-MPTP-induced toxicity, thereby implicating superoxide radicals in the mechanism of action of a neurotoxin that selectively depletes 5-HT and NE without affecting dopamine.
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To examine the consequences of nigrostriatal denervation and chronic levodopa (L-DOPA) treatment on functional activity of the basal ganglia, we analyzed, using in situ hybridization, the cellular expression of the mRNA encoding for cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI mRNA), a molecular marker for functional neuronal activity, in the basal ganglia. This analysis was performed in monkeys rendered parkinsonian by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) Intoxication, some of which had been receiving L-DOPA, and in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). In MPTP-intoxicated monkeys compared with control animals, COI mRNA expression was increased in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and in the output nuclei of the basal ganglia, i.e., the internal segment of the globus pallidus and the substantia nigra pars reticulata. This increase was partially reversed by L-DOPA treatment. COI mRNA expression remained unchanged in the external segment of the globus pallidus (GPe). In PD patients, all of whom had been treated chronically by L-DOPA, COI mRNA expression in the analyzed basal ganglia structures was similar to that in control subjects. These results are in agreement with the accepted model of basal ganglia organization, to the extent that the output nuclei of the basal ganglia are considered to be overactive after nigrostriatal denervation, partly because of increased activity of excitatory afferents from the STN. Yet, our results would also seem to contradict this model, because the overactivity of the STN does not seem to be attributable to a hypoactivation of the GPe.
The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of 5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5,10-imine [(+)MK-801] on 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced nigrostriatal damage in the mouse, with the goal of clearly defining what protective effects, if any, this noncompetitive N-methyl-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine receptor antagonist may have against MPTP neurotoxicity. Animals were treated with MPTP (40 mg/kg s.c.) and/or (+)MK-801 (3 x 1 mg/kg i.p. at 4-hr intervals starting 30 min before MPTP) and were killed at 8 hr and 1, 7 and 21 days after MPTP exposure. Dopamine concentrations were measured in the striatum and ventral mesencephalon, and the total number of neurons in the substantia nigra was estimated using an unbiased stereological technique. Administration of (+)MK-801 before MPTP temporarily prevented MPTP-induced dopamine depletion. This was observed at 8 hr in the striatum and 1 week in the ventral mesencephalon, but not at other time-points studied. In both areas of the brain, (+)MK-801 appeared to delay the elimination of the metabolite 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion without affecting its formation. A 30% loss of nigral neurons with tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive and cresyl violet staining was seen at 1 and 3 weeks in both groups of MPTP-exposed animals, regardless of whether they received (+)MK-801. These data suggest that (+)MK-801 may affect the acute pharmacological/biochemical events induced by MPTP, but it does not have any enduring protective effects on either dopamine concentrations and/or the cell loss induced by this neurotoxin in mice.
Evidence obtained from studies on the mechanisms of action of dopaminergic neurotoxins suggests that glial cells may play an important role in neurodegenerative processes. A possible link between the function of glial cells and nerve cell damage could relate to the ability of astrocytes to convert innocuous compounds into toxic metabolites. Indeed, a mechanism of metabolic activation has been demonstrated in the MPTP (1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3, 6-tetrahydropyridine) model of dopaminergic toxicity. The fully oxidized pyridinium metabolite (MPP+) is the ultimate mediator of MPTP neurotoxicity and is apparently able to damage neuronal cells after being formed within and released from astrocytes. Dopaminergic neurons are particularly vulnerable to MPTP toxicity probably because of their ability to accumulate MPP+ and to retain it for a prolonged period of time. Two pathways of MPP+ formation have been identified in astrocytes, one dependent upon the activity of monoamine oxidase (MAO) and the other related to the presence of transition metals. Tetrahydroisoquinolines (TIQs) are neurotoxins similar to MPTP in chemical structure as well as in their requirement for metabolic activation. Original data presented in this study do not support, however, a role of astrocytic MAO in the conversion of N-methyl-1,2,3,4-TIQ to the corresponding quinolinium metabolite.
The neurotoxin MPTP induces in human and in some laboratory animals parkinsonism-like neurological disorder, biochemically characterized by selective and irreversible decrease of dopamine content in striatum. The terminal step in the mechanism of neurotoxic action of MPTP is the inhibition of mitochondrial respiratory chain by pyridinium metabolite (MPP+) resulting in energy depletion and nervous cells death. Earlier it was shown that some chemical compounds, in particular diethyldithiocarbamate (DTC), can potentiate MPTP neurotoxicity. In the present work we have studied the influence of DTC derivatives on MPTP neurotoxic effect in vivo and on MPP+ inhibition of mitochondrial respiration (both on intact mitochondria and on submitochondrial particles) in vitro. It was revealed that DTC alone change mitochondrial membrane state by respiratory chain uncoupling and inhibition. DTC and MPP+ mutually potentiate inhibition of electron transport as well. The combined effect of DTC plus MPP+ action on mitochondria respiration reflects the sum of reciprocally leveling and potentiating factors and can explain the order of efficacy of MPTP-neurotoxicity potentiation in vivo in series of close DTC derivatives.