title: High number of striatal dopaminergic neurons during early postnatal development: correlation analysis with dopaminergic fibers.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: IRCCS INM Neuromed, Pozzilli, Italy.
authors.forename: Carla L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Busceti
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Biagioni
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mastroiacovo
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bucci
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lenzi
authors.forename: Livia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pasquali
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Trabucco
authors.forename: Ferdinando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nicoletti
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fornai