title: A rat model of Parkinsonism shows depletion of dopamine in the retina.
abstract: The retinal dopamine (DA) deficiency is an important feature of the pathogenesis in Parkinson's disease (PD) visual dysfunction. Systemic inhibition of complex I (rotenone) in rats has been proposed as a model of PD. In this study, we investigated whether systemic inhibition of complex I can induce impairment of DA-ergic cells in the retina, similar to the destruction of retinal cells found in PD patients. Rotenone (2.5mg/kg i.p., daily) was administered over 60 days. Neurochemically, rotenone treated rats showed a depletion of DA in the striatum and substantia nigra (SN). In addition, the number of retinal DA-ergic amacrine cells was significantly reduced in the rotenone treated animals. This study is the first one giving highlight towards a deeper understanding of systemic complex I inhibition (rotenone as an environmental toxin) and the connection between both, DA-ergic degeneration in the nigrostriatal pathway, and in the DA-ergic amacrine cells of the retina.
authors.affiliation: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Department of Biology, and the Brain Research Institute at the University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland. biehlmaier@hifo.unizh.ch
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Biehlmaier
authors.forename: Mesbah
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alam
authors.forename: Werner J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Schmidt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D020734:Parkinsonian Disorders / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012160:Retina / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D004298:Dopamine