title: Dynamic alterations of gene expression of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor α7, α4 and β2 subunits in an acute MPTP-lesioned mouse model.
abstract: Epidemiologic studies show that the prevalence of Parkinson's disease (PD) is lower in smokers than in nonsmokers. Nicotine, a potent agonist of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), excites midbrain dopaminergic neurons and this may contribute to the anti-parkinsonian effects. However, the alterations in gene expression of nAChR subunits using an acute 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) mouse PD model remain unclear. In the present study, we profile the time course of nAChR α7, α4 and β2 subunit expression levels using a comparative RT-PCR approach after acute MPTP injection. The results fall into four categories. (1) MPTP treatment transiently increased nAChR α7 (after last injection of MPTP 3 and 24 h), α4 and β2 (24 h) mRNA expression in the substantia nigra (SN) and striatum. (2) Compared to cortical and hippocampal tissues, this transient increase of nAChR subunit expression specifically occurred in the SN and striatum. (3) In the acute MPTP model, time-courses of altered expression for nAChR α7, α4 and β2 subunits closely mirrored the deficits observed in animal motor activity. (4) Stereological data showed that after administration of MPTP for 24h, there was a robust astrogliosis in the SN associated with significant dopaminergic neurodegeneration. These changes followed or paralleled MPTP-induced elevation in the levels of α7, α4 and β2 mRNAs. Collectively, our results demonstrate that nAChRs are important targets in the MPTP neurotoxic process. These data suggest that therapeutic strategies targeted toward nAChR α7, α4 and β2 subunits may have potential for developing new treatments for PD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Guang Zhou Road 300, Nanjing 210029, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Chenlei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zuhu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Weimin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D015870:Gene Expression; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D051379:Mice; D020734:Parkinsonian Disorders / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D064569:alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor
chemical_list: D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic; D064569:alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor; C579166:Chrna7 protein, mouse