Nigral degeneration following striato-pallidal lesion in tissue type plasminogen activator deficient mice.
Tissue type plasminogen activator (tPA) has been suggested as a key factor in excitotoxic neuronal death in the hippocampus. Transneuronal degeneration of the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNR) neurons after striato-pallidal lesions is attributable to excess excitatory glutamatergic inputs into the SNR following inhibitory GABAergic deafferentation and tPA may contribute to the mechanism of transneuronal degeneration of the SNR. To examine this possibility, we studied pathological changes in the SNR following striato-pallidal lesions produced by electrocoagulation in tPA-deficient mice. There was no difference in the degree of SNR degeneration, or in microglial activation and proliferation in the degenerating SNR of tPA-deficient and control mice. Our results indicate that tPA does not contribute to transneuronal degeneration in the SNR following striato-pallidal lesions in mice.
Kataoka
K
K
Department of Neurosurgery, Kinki University, School of Medicine, Osaka-Sayama, Osaka, Japan. kataoka@med.kindai.ac.jp
Asai
T
T
Taneda
M
M
Ueshima
S
S
Matsuo
O
O
Kuroda
R
R
Carmeliet
P
P
Collen
D
D
D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005917:Globus Pallidus / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D017628:Microglia / Q000473:pathology; D009410:Nerve Degeneration; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000473:pathology*; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator / Q000172:deficiency*; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000502:physiology
D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator