title: Pleiotrophin over-expression provides trophic support to dopaminergic neurons in parkinsonian rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pleiotrophin is known to promote the survival and differentiation of dopaminergic neurons in vitro and is up-regulated in the substantia nigra of Parkinson's disease patients. To establish whether pleiotrophin has a trophic effect on nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons in vivo, we injected a recombinant adenovirus expressing pleiotrophin in the substantia nigra of 6-hydroxydopamine lesioned rats.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The viral vector induced pleiotrophin over-expression by astrocytes in the substantia nigra pars compacta, without modifying endogenous neuronal expression. The percentage of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive cells as well as the area of their projections in the lesioned striatum was higher in pleiotrophin-treated animals than in controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results indicate that pleiotrophin over-expression partially rescues tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive cell bodies and terminals of dopaminergic neurons undergoing 6-hydroxydopamine-induced degeneration.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Parkinson Experimental, Instituto de Investigaciones Farmacológicas (ININFA-CONICET-UBA), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina. taravini@ffyb.uba.ar.
authors.forename: Irene Re
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Taravini
authors.forename: Mariela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chertoff
authors.forename: Eduardo G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Cafferata
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Courty
authors.forename: Mario G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Murer
authors.forename: Fernando J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Pitossi
authors.forename: Oscar S
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Gershanik