title: The unilateral nigral lesion induces dramatic bilateral modification on rat brain monoamine neurochemistry.
abstract: 6-Hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) is a neurotoxic compound commonly used to induce dopamine (DA) depletion in the nigrostriatal system, mimicking Parkinson's disease (PD) in animals. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the 7-day effect of unilateral nigral lesion on rat brain monoamine neurochemistry. Five brain regions were examined: the brain stem, cerebellum, hippocampus, striatum, and cortex. 6-OHDA-unilateral lesion dramatically modified DA, serotonin (5-HT) and their metabolites contents in both sides of the different brain nuclei. Furthermore, unilateral 6-OHDA lesion reduced DA and 5-HT contents and produced a robust inversion of their turnover in the nonlesioned side compared to sham-operated rats. These data suggest that 6-OHDA unilateral nigral lesion produces bilateral monoamine level modifications, and this piece of evidence should be taken into account when one interprets data from animal models of unilateral PD.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Consorzio Mario Negri Sud, Santa Maria Imbaro (Chieti), Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pierucci
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Di Matteo
authors.forename: Arcangelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Benigno
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Crescimanno
authors.forename: Ennio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Esposito
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Giovanni
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015306:Biogenic Monoamines / Q000378:metabolism*; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D015306:Biogenic Monoamines