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Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) supports the viability of midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons that degenerate in Parkinson’s disease. Middle aged, 12-month-old, Gdnf heterozygous (Gdnf+/−) mice have diminished spontaneous locomotor activity and enhanced synaptosomal DA uptake compared to wildtype mice. In this study, dopamine transporter (DAT) function in middle-aged, 12-month-old Gdnf+/− mice was more thoroughly investigated using in vivo electrochemistry. Gdnf+/− mice injected with the DAT inhibitor, nomifensine, exhibited significantly more locomotor activity than wildtype mice. In vivo electrochemistry with carbon fiber microelectrodes demonstrated enhanced clearance of DA in the striatum of Gdnf+/− mice, suggesting greater surface expression of DAT than in wildtype littermates. Additionally, 12 month old Gdnf+/− mice expressed greater D2 receptor mRNA and protein in the striatum than wildtype mice. Neurochemical analyses of striatal tissue samples indicated significant reductions in DA and a faster DA metabolic rate in Gdnf+/− mice than in wildtype mice. Altogether, these data support an important role for GDNF in the regulation of uptake, synthesis, and metabolism of DA during aging.

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The neurorestorative effects of exogenous neurturin (NTN) delivered directly into the putamen via multiport catheters were studied in 10 MPTP-lesioned rhesus monkeys expressing stable parkinsonism. The parkinsonian animals were blindly assigned to receive coded solutions containing either vehicle (n = 5) or NTN (n = 5, 30 µg/day). Both solutions were coinfused with heparin using convection-enhanced delivery for 3 months. The NTN recipients showed a significant and sustained behavioral improvement in their parkinsonian features during the treatment period, an effect not seen in the vehicle-treated animals. At study termination, locomotor activity levels were increased by 50% in the NTN versus vehicle recipients. Also, DOPAC levels were significantly increased by 150% ipsilateral (right) to NTN infusion in the globus pallidus, while HVA levels were elevated bilaterally in the NTN-treated animals by 10% on the left and 67% on the right hemisphere. No significant changes in DA function were seen in the putamen. Volumetric analysis of putamenal NTN labeling showed between-subject variation, with tissue distribution ranging from 214 to 744 mm 3 , approximately equivalent to 27-93% of area coverage. Our results support the concept that intraparenchymal delivery of NTN protein may be effective for the treatment of PD. More studies are needed to determine strategies that would enhance tissue distribution of exogenous NTN protein, which could contribute to optimize its trophic effects in the parkinsonian brain.

No abstract