title: Toxin-induced models of Parkinson's disease.
abstract: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease that appears essentially as a sporadic condition. It results mainly from the death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. PD etiology remains mysterious, whereas its pathogenesis begins to be understood as a multifactorial cascade of deleterious factors. Most insights into PD pathogenesis come from investigations performed in experimental models of PD, especially those produced by neurotoxins. Although a host of natural and synthetic molecules do exert deleterious effects on dopaminergic neurons, only a handful are used in living laboratory animals to recapitulate some of the hallmarks of PD. In this review, we discuss what we believe are the four most popular parkinsonian neurotoxins, namely 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), rotenone, and paraquat. The main goal is to provide an updated summary of the main characteristics of each of these four neurotoxins. However, we also try to provide the reader with an idea about the various strengths and the weaknesses of these neurotoxic models.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, USA.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bové
authors.forename: Delphine
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Prou
authors.forename: Céline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Perier
authors.forename: Serge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Przedborski
mesh_terms: D015632:1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine; D000818:Animals; D015259:Dopamine Agents; D006540:Herbicides; D006801:Humans; D009498:Neurotoxins; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology; D016627:Oxidopamine; D010269:Paraquat; D010302:Parkinson Disease, Secondary / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology*; D012402:Rotenone; D013565:Sympatholytics
chemical_list: D015259:Dopamine Agents; D006540:Herbicides; D009498:Neurotoxins; D013565:Sympatholytics; D012402:Rotenone; D016627:Oxidopamine; D015632:1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine; D010269:Paraquat