Oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson disease based on its role in the cascade of biochemical changes that lead to dopaminergic neuronal death. This study analyzed the role of oxidative stress as a mechanism of the dopaminergic neurotoxicity produced by the combined paraquat and maneb model of the Parkinson disease phenotype. Transgenic mice overexpressing either Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase or intracellular glutathione peroxidase and non-transgenic mice were exposed to saline, paraquat, or the combination of paraquat ؉ maneb twice a week for 9 weeks. Non-transgenic mice chronically exposed to paraquat ؉ maneb exhibited significant reductions in locomotor activity, levels of striatal dopamine and metabolites, and dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. In contrast, no corresponding effects were observed in either Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase or glutathione peroxidase transgenic mice. Similarly, the increase in levels of lipid hydroperoxides in the midbrain and striatum of paraquat ؉ maneb-treated non-transgenic mice was not detected in either Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase or glutathione peroxidase transgenic mice. To begin to determine critical pathways of paraquat ؉ maneb neurotoxicity, the functions of cell death-inducing and protective mechanisms were analyzed. Even a single injection of paraquat ؉ maneb in the non-transgenic treated group modulated several key pro-and anti-apoptotic proteins, including Bax, Bad, Bcl-xL, and upstream stress-induced cascade. Collectively, these findings support the assertion that protective mechanisms against paraquat ؉ maneb-induced neurodegeneration could involve modulation of the level of reactive oxygen species and alterations of the functions of specific signaling cascades.Parkinson disease (PD) 1 is a neurodegenerative disorder resulting, in part, from the progressive loss of dopamine (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). A lack of evidence for heritability of the idiopathic form of PD has pointed to environmental risk factors as potential contributors to the disease etiology. In accord with that possibility, exposures to environmental agents have been linked repeatedly with the development of PD (1-9). Animal models, epidemiological studies, and clinical case reports have repeatedly identified exposure to the herbicide paraquat (PQ) and the fungicide maneb (MB) as potential risk factors for the PD phenotype (1, 9 -15). Our laboratories have demonstrated extensively that exposure to the combination of PQ ϩ MB produces a potentiated loss of dopaminergic neurons in the SNpc of mice compared with either compound alone (16). This model exemplifies the "multiple hit" hypothesis associated with PD. Furthermore, the neurotoxicity of PQ ϩ MB seems to be highly selective to the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system. Additionally, we have shown that exposure during critical periods of development and during advanced age as well as gender and genetic background all modify the susceptibility and response of dopaminergic...