High number of striatal dopaminergic neurons during early postnatal development: correlation analysis with dopaminergic fibers.
Dopamine (DA) axons in the developing striatum cluster in discrete areas called "DA islands". During the third postnatal week, most DA islands are no-longer detectable and the DA innervation becomes uniform. In this study we explored the relationship between the pattern of DA innervation and the number of striatal tyrosine hydroxylase positive (TH+) cells during early postnatal development. By using dedicated stereology we found that the newborn striatum contains striatal TH+ cells, which cluster around newly sprouted DA axons. The number of these cells decreases when DA axons develop a full pattern of striatal innervation. This condition suggests a causal relationship between the amount of striatal DA innervation and the presence of striatal DA neurons. A better knowledge of the mechanisms regulating the ontogenesis of the nigrostriatal DA system may pave the way to strategies of neurorescue of the DA system.
Busceti
Carla L
CL
IRCCS INM Neuromed, Pozzilli, Italy.
Biagioni
Francesca
F
Mastroiacovo
Federica
F
Bucci
Domenico
D
Lenzi
Paola
P
Pasquali
Livia
L
Trabucco
Angela
A
Nicoletti
Ferdinando
F
Fornai
Francesco
F