Dopaminergic lesions result in the acute loss of striatal dopamine content, the loss of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive fibers, upregulation of preproenkephalin mRNA expression, and compensatory changes in the synthesis and metabolism of dopamine. Despite the severe loss of fine tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive fibers, larger fibers persist. We found that some tyrosine hydroxylase fiber ...

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and Neurturin (NRTN) bind to a receptor complex consisting of a member of the GDNF family receptor (GFR)-α and the Ret tyrosine kinase. Both factors were shown to protect nigro-striatal dopaminergic neurons and reduce motor symptoms when applied terminally in toxin-induced Parkinson's disease (PD) models. However, clinical trials based on intra...

In this report, we provide evidence that NGF and BDNF have functionally antagonistic actions on sympathetic neuron growth and target innervation, with NGF acting via TrkA to promote growth and BDNF via p75NTR to inhibit growth. Specifically, in cultured sympathetic neurons that themselves synthesize BDNF, exogenous BDNF inhibits and function-blocking BDNF antibodies enhance process outgrowth. B...

It has been reported that the administration of cycloheximide, a protein synthesis inhibitor, depresses brain tyrosine hydroxylase activity as measured in vitro. This finding raised the possibility that the amnesic effect of this drug could be due to reduction of norepinephrine synthesis rather than to inhibition of protein synthesis required for long-term memory. We have found that (1) amnesic...

We have established a primary neuronal culture of the embryonic day 14 rat, ventral mesencephalic region, centered on the A8, A9, and A10 dopaminergic nuclei (approximately 1.0 mm3 of tissue). At 16 hr after plating on a substrate of poly-D-lysine, in a serum-free or serum-supplemented growth medium, using a microisland culturing method, 95% of the cells stained positive for neuron-specific eno...

Objective(s): Exercise ameliorates the quality of life and reduces the risk of neurological derangements such as Alzheimer’s (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). Irisin is a product of the physical activity and is a circulating hormone that regulates the energy metabolism in the body. In the nervous system, Irisin influences neurogenesis and neural differentiation in mic...

Thoracic ganglia in humans were studied after electrical, preganglionic stimulation using in situ hybridization with synthetic oligonucleotide probes against the catecholamine-synthesizing enzymes tyrosine hydroxylase (EC 1.14.16.2) and dopamine beta-hydroxylase (EC 1.14.17.1) and neuropeptide tyrosine. Immunohistochemical analysis was also performed. Following short peroperative stimulation a ...

Recent clinical evidence supports a link between 25-hydroxyvitamin D insufficiency (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels <30 ng/mL) and Parkinson's disease. To investigate the effect of 25(OH)D depletion on neuronal susceptibility to toxic insult, we induced a state of 25(OH)D deficiency in mice and then challenged them with the dopaminergic neurotoxin 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydro...