Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that is primarily characterized by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the nigrostriatal pathway. Previous studies have demonstrated that chronic systemic exposure of Lewis rats to rotenone produced many features of PD, and cerebral tauopathy was also detected in the case of severe weight loss. The present study was designed to assess the neurotoxicity of rotenone after daily oral administration for 28 days at several doses in C57BL/6 mice. In addition, we examined the protective effects of 4-phenylbutyrate (4-PBA) on nigral dopamine (DA) neurons in rotenone-treated mice. 4-PBA was injected intraperitoneally daily 30 min before each oral administration of rotenone. Chronic oral administration of rotenone at high doses induced specific nigrostriatal DA neurodegeneration, motor deficits and the up-regulation of a-synuclein in the surviving DA neurons. In contrast to the Lewis rat model, cerebral tauopathy was not detected in this mouse model. 4-PBA inhibited rotenone-induced neuronal death and decreased the protein level of a-synuclein. These results suggest that this rotenone mouse model may be useful for understanding the mechanism of DA neurodegeneration in PD, and that 4-PBA has a neuroprotective effect in the treatment of PD.

No abstract

Planarian, an invertebrate flatworm, has a high capacity for regeneration when compared with other worms and animals. We show here for the first time that the reconstructed dopamine (DA) neural network regulates locomotion and behavior in planarian regenerates. The gene encoding tyrosine hydroxylase in the planarian Dugesia japonica (DjTH) was identified. DjTH protein was coexpressed with aromatic amino acid decarboxylase-like A (DjAADCA) in the planarian central nervous system (CNS). In addition, DjTH-knockdown planarians lost the ability to synthesize DA, but showed no change in 5-hydroxytryptamine synthesis. When the planarian body was amputated, DjTH-positive neurons were regenerated in the brain newly rebuilt from the tail piece at Day 3, and the DjTH-positive axonal and dendritic neural network in the CNS (dopaminergic tiara) was reconstructed at Days 5-7. At that time, autonomic locomotion and methamphetamine-induced hyperkinesia were also suppressed in DjTH-knockdown planarians. Planarian locomotion and behavior seem to be regulated in both cilia-and muscle-dependent manners. In DjTH-knockdown planarians, muscle-mediated locomotion and behavior were significantly attenuated. These results suggest that DA neurons play a key role in the muscle-mediated movement in planarians.

Chronic systemic exposure of Lewis rats to rotenone produced many features of Parkinson's disease (PD), including nigrostriatal dopamine (DA) neurodegeneration and the formation of cytoplasmic inclusions in nigral DA neurons. We also reported that chronic oral administration of rotenone at 30 mg/kg for 28 d caused specific nigrostriatal DA neurodegeneration in C57BL/6 mice. To establish a PD model more suitable for evaluating nigrostriatal DA neurodegeneration, the present study has been designed to assess the neurotoxicity of rotenone after daily oral administration at 30 or 100 mg/kg for 56 d in C57BL/6 mice. The survival rate of rotenone-treated mice at 30 mg/kg did not change from 28 to 56 d, although the survival rate of rotenone-treated mice at 30 mg/kg was decreased to about 70% within one week. The survival rate of the rotenone-treated mice at 100 mg/kg was suddenly decreased after 28 d, and finally to about 15% at 56 d. Rotenone at 30 mg/kg, but not 100 mg/kg, for 28 d caused a significant loss of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive neurons in the substantia nigra. Rotenone at 100 mg/kg caused a highly variable loss of TH-positive neurons among individual mice. Rotenone at 30 mg/kg for 56 d caused a significant loss of TH-positive neurons and behavioral impairment. In addition, α-synuclein immunoreactivity was increased in surviving TH-positive neurons in a time-dependent manner. Thus, this protocol for chronic administration of rotenone at 30 mg/kg for 56 d is more useful for understanding the mechanism of DA neurodegeneration.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) is massively produced in the brain after cerebral ischemia and reperfusion. It reacts strongly with cellular components, which has detrimental effects and leads to neuronal cell death. DJ-1, which was found to be the causative gene of familial Parkinson's disease PARK7, is a multifunction protein, which plays a key role in transcriptional regulation, and a molecular chaperone. In this study, we investigated the neuroprotective effect of DJ-1 against neurodegeneration caused by ischemia/reperfusion injury. Cerebral ischemia was induced in rats by 120 mins of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) using an intraluminal introduction method. The intrastriatal injection of recombinant glutathione S-transferase-tagged human DJ-1 (GST-DJ-1) markedly reduced infarct size in 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining at 3 days after MCAO. In addition, we performed a noninvasive evaluation of ischemic size using magnetic resonance imaging and found a significant reduction of infarct size with the administration of GST-DJ-1. In GST-DJ-1-treated rats, behavioral dysfunction and nitrotyrosine formation were significantly inhibited. Furthermore, GST-DJ-1 markedly inhibited H 2 O 2 -mediated ROS production in SH-SY5Y cells. These results indicate that GST-DJ-1 exerts a neuroprotective effect by reducing ROSmediated neuronal injury, suggesting that DJ-1 may be a useful therapeutic target for ischemic neurodegeneration.