A New Tool to Study Parkinsonism in the Context of Aging: MPTP Intoxication in a Natural Model of Multimorbidity
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Published:2021-04-21
Issue:9
Volume:22
Page:4341
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ISSN:1422-0067
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Container-title:International Journal of Molecular Sciences
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language:en
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Short-container-title:IJMS
Author:
Cuenca-Bermejo LorenaORCID,
Pizzichini ElisaORCID,
Gonçalves ValeriaORCID,
Guillén-Díaz María,
Aguilar-Moñino Elena,
Sánchez-Rodrigo Consuelo,
González-Cuello Ana-María,
Fernández-Villalba Emiliano,
Herrero MaríaORCID
Abstract
The diurnal rodent Octodon degus (O. degus) is considered an attractive natural model for Alzheimer’s disease and other human age-related features. However, it has not been explored so far if the O. degus could be used as a model to study Parkinson’s disease. To test this idea, 10 adult male O. degus were divided into control group and MPTP-intoxicated animals. Motor condition and cognition were examined. Dopaminergic degeneration was studied in the ventral mesencephalon and in the striatum. Neuroinflammation was also evaluated in the ventral mesencephalon, in the striatum and in the dorsal hippocampus. MPTP animals showed significant alterations in motor activity and in visuospatial memory. Postmortem analysis revealed a significant decrease in the number of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral mesencephalon of MPTP animals, although no differences were found in their striatal terminals. We observed a significant increase in neuroinflammatory responses in the mesencephalon, in the striatum and in the hippocampus of MPTP-intoxicated animals. Additionally, changes in the subcellular expression of the calcium-binding protein S100β were found in the astrocytes in the nigrostriatal pathway. These findings prove for the first time that O. degus are sensitive to MPTP intoxication and, therefore, is a suitable model for experimental Parkinsonism in the context of aging.
Funder
Fundación Séneca
Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades
Torno Subito Programme promoted by the Regione Lazio and managed by DiSCo Lazio
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
Subject
Inorganic Chemistry,Organic Chemistry,Physical and Theoretical Chemistry,Computer Science Applications,Spectroscopy,Molecular Biology,General Medicine,Catalysis
Cited by
2 articles.
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