title: Effects of L-arginine pre-treatment in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine-induced Parkinson's diseases in Balb/c mice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease resulting from the degeneration of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). Increasing evidence demonstrated that mice treated intranasally with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) suffered impairments in motor functions associated with disruption of DA neurons in SNc conceivably analogous to those observed in PD. L-arginine has been proposed as a novel neuroprotective agent that plays protective roles in several models of neuronal cellular damage. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of L-arginine on the numerical density of dark neurons (DNs) in the SNc of Balb/c mice subjected to MPTP administration.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the present study, we demonstrated that repeated treatment with L-arginine (300 mg/kg, i.p.) during 7 consecutive days attenuated the production of DNs in SNc of adult male Balb/c mice infused with a single intranasal administration of MPTP (1 mg/nostril).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pre-treatment with L-arginine significantly decreased the numerical density of DNs in SNc of mice 21 days after intranasal MPTP administration.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This investigation provides new insights in experimental models of PD, indicating that L-arginine represents a potential neuroprotective agent for the prevention of DA neuron degeneration in SNc observed in PD patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.
authors.forename: Javad
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hami
authors.affiliation: Research Centre of Experimental Medicine AND Department of Public Health, Deputy of Research and Technology, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehran
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hosseini
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, School of Sciences, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Sekineh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shahi
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand AND Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Nassim
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lotfi
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.
authors.forename: Abolfazl
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Talebi
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Afshar
keywords: 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1; 2; 3; 6-tetrahydropyridine; BALB C Mice; Parkinson Disease; Protective Agents