title: Effects of extended periods of reserpine and α-methyl-p-tyrosine treatment on the development of the putamen in fetal rabbits.
abstract: Developing nigrostriatal neuroblasts exhibit catecholamine-induced fluorescence before their axons have left the vicinity of the cell bodies. To evaluate possible developmental effects of dopamine, we have used reserpine and α-methyl-p-tyrosine to deplete dopamine chronically during the development of these axons. We found that dopamine-induced fluorescence was either absent or markedly decreased in the fetal putamens. To determine whether the absence of fluorescence was due to a reduction of dopamine terminals, the uptake of tritium-labeled dopamine was measured in the putamen. Uptake of labeled dopamine was significantly depressed in reserpine-treated fetuses to 70% of that of controls; however, no depression of labeled dopamine was found in the α-methyl-p-tyrosine-treated fetuses. After both drug treatments, the striatal perikarya were less mature than those of controls. Although we cannot rule out possible non-specific or toxic effects of the drugs, these observations support the conclusion that presynaptic dopamine may be important for development of target neurons in the neostriatum.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Pathology (Neuropathology), and Neurology, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10032 U.S.A.
authors.forename: V M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Tennyson
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gershon
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Budininkas-Schoenebeck
authors.forename: T P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Rothman