title: Striatal expression of GDNF and differential vulnerability of midbrain dopaminergic cells.
abstract: Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a member of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily that when exogenously administrated exerts a potent trophic action on dopaminergic (DA) cells. Although we know a lot about its signalling mechanisms and pharmacological effects, physiological actions of GDNF on the adult brain remain unclear. Here, we have used morphological and molecular techniques, and an experimental model of Parkinson's disease in rats, to investigate whether GDNF constitutively expressed in the adult mesostriatal system plays a neuroprotective role on midbrain DA cells. We found that although all midbrain DA cells express both receptor components of GDNF (GFRalpha1 and Ret), those in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and rostromedial substantia nigra (SNrm) also contain GDNF but not GDNFmRNA. The levels of GDNFmRNA are significantly higher in the ventral striatum (vSt), the target region of VTA and SNrm cells, than in the dorsal striatum (dSt), the target region of DA cells in the caudoventral substantia nigra (SNcv). After fluoro-gold injection in striatum, VTA and SNrm DA cells show triple labelling for tyrosine hydroxylase, GDNF and fluoro-gold, and after colchicine injection in the lateral ventricle, they become GDNF-immunonegative, suggesting that GDNF in DA somata comes from their striatal target. As DA cells in VTA and SNrm are more resistant than those in SNcv to intracerebroventricular injection of 6-OHDA, as occurs in Parkinson's disease, we can suggest that the fact that they project to vSt, where GDNF expression is significantly higher than in the dSt, is a neuroprotective factor involved in the differential vulnerability of midbrain DA neurons.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Anatomía, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de La Laguna, 38207 La Laguna,Tenerife, Spain.
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Barroso-Chinea
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cruz-Muros
authors.forename: María S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Aymerich
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Díaz
authors.forename: Domingo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Afonso-Oramas
authors.forename: José L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Lanciego
authors.forename: Tomás
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: González-Hernández
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count / Q000379:methods; D003078:Colchicine / Q000494:pharmacology; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000378:metabolism*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051100:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D051097:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Receptors; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D017403:In Situ Hybridization / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000166:cytology*; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051096:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D013266:Stilbamidines / Q000378:metabolism; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C049774:2-hydroxy-4,4'-diamidinostilbene, methanesulfonate salt; C495041:Gdnf protein, rat; D051100:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D051097:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Receptors; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D013266:Stilbamidines; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase; D051096:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; C495001:Ret protein, rat; D003078:Colchicine; D004298:Dopamine