title: Partial bilateral mesencephalic lesions affect D1 but not D2 binding in both the striatum and cortex.
abstract: The substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA) are the two major mesencephalic dopaminergic systems. Mesencephalic dopamine denervation is followed by long-term modifications in striatum and cortex that preserve dopamine functions. Here, we have studied the impact of isolated bilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesioning of the SNc or the VTA on D(1) and D(2) dopamine receptor binding in striatal and cortical areas of rat. Neither SNc nor VTA bilateral partial lesioning changed D(2) binding at the striatal or cortical level. Intriguingly, only VTA lesioning increased D(1) binding in the cortex, whereas both bilateral partial lesioning of the SNc or the VTA increased striatal D(1) binding. This suggests that increased cortical D(1) binding could be an indicator of VTA lesioning. Further behavioural experiments may explain the pathophysiological meaning of increased cortical D(1) binding, and determine whether this observation is involved in compensatory mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Basal Gang, Laboratoire de Physiologie et Physiopathologie de la Signalisation Cellulaire, CNRS UMR 5543, Université Victor Segalen, 146 rue Léo Saignat, 33076 Bordeaux Cedex, France. elsa.pioli@etu.u-bordeaux2.fr
authors.forename: Elsa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pioli
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sohr
authors.forename: Wassilios
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Meissner
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Barthe
authors.forename: Christian E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.forename: Erwan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bezard
authors.forename: Bernard H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Bioulac
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000378:metabolism*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000378:metabolism*; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000378:metabolism*; D011485:Protein Binding / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D017447:Receptors, Dopamine D1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2 / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D017447:Receptors, Dopamine D1; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2