Neurotrophic factor in the treatment of Parkinson disease.
OBJECTIVE
Parkinson disease (PD) is a well-known degenerative disease resulting in the depletion of dopamine-producing neurons in the pars compacta of the substantia nigra. Adenoviral vector delivery of neurotrophic factors may provide a potential therapy for PD. The authors examined whether glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) delivered via adenoviral vector (Ad-GDNF) could promote functional recovery in a rat model of PD. Additionally, they examined whether neural precursor cells (NPCs) provide the therapeutic potential of cultured neural cells for cell regeneration and replacement in PD.


METHODS
All animals underwent stereotactic injection of 6-hydroxydopamine into the right substantia nigra. Eight weeks later, the rats were tested for apomorphine-induced rotational asymmetry and evaluation of explanted grafts infected with the complementary DNA for GDNF containing NPCs and NPCs alone. In the NPC cultures of embryonic rat striata, the authors found that basic fibroblast growth factor induced the proliferation of stem cells, which give rise to spheres of undifferentiated cells that generate neurons and glia.


CONCLUSIONS
In this study the authors found that the reduction of apomorphine-induced rotation was more prominent in parkinsonian rats that received Ad-GDNF-treated grafts containing NPCs (61%) than in those that received grafts of NPCs alone (16%).
Yoo
Young Mi
YM
Department of Neurosurgery, Gachon Medical College, Gil Medical Center, Namdong-Ku, Inchon, South Korea. neurobeauty@hanmail.net
Kim
Yong Jung
YJ
Lee
Uhn
U
Paik
Doo Jin
DJ
Yoo
Hyun Tae
HT
Park
Cheol Wan
CW
Kim
Young Bo
YB
Lee
Sang Goo
SG
Kim
Woo Kyung
WK
Yoo
Chan Jong
CJ
D000818:Animals; D001058:Apomorphine; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000166:cytology; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005260:Female; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 / Q000494:pharmacology; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D051100:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016627:Oxidopamine; D020734:Parkinsonian Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000628:therapy*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000637:transplantation
C495041:Gdnf protein, rat; D051100:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2; D016627:Oxidopamine; D001058:Apomorphine