Gene expression in striatal grafts--I. Cellular localization of neurotransmitter mRNAs

Cellular localization of tyrosine hydroxylase mRNA and cholecystokinin mRNA-containing cells in the ventral mesencephalon of the common marmoset: effects of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine

In situ hybridization histochemistry was used to localize tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) mRNA and cholecystokinin (CCK) mRNA-expressing cells in the ventral mesencephalon of the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) and to examine the effects of the dopaminergic (DA) neurotoxin, 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) on these two populations of neurons in the pars compacta of the substantia nigra (SNc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA). X-ray film and liquid emulsion autoradiography of brain sections hybridized with an 35S-labelled synthetic 45-mer antisense human TH oligonucleotide probe showed strong hybridization signals and dense populations of TH mRNA expressing cells in the SNc and VTA at all levels, in the control marmoset brain. In the MPTP-treated brain, there was a substantial reduction of TH mRNA in the ventral midbrain. The loss of TH mRNA-expressing cells amounted to 98% in the lateral SNc, 88% in the medial SNc and 33% in the VTA. In situ hybridization of adjacent sections with an 35S-labelled synthetic 45-mer antisense human CCK oligonucleotide probe showed a weak hybridization signal for CCK mRNA in the ventral midbrain of the control brain. Emulsion autoradiography demonstrated CCK mRNA expressing cells in the SNc and VTA at all levels with the number of cells in the VTA similar to that for TH mRNA. However, the number of cells in the SNc expressing CCK mRNA was a fraction (1/4) of that expressing TH mRNA; moreover, the level of expression per cell was substantially less than that for TH mRNA.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Choline acetyltransferase- and substance P-like immunoreactive elements in fetal striatal grafts in the rat: a correlated light and electron microscopic study

Fetal striatal neurons were transplanted into the ibotenic acid-lesioned rat striatum. Three months after transplantation, the graft tissue was processed for choline acetyltransferase- and substance P-like immunoreactivity and was subsequently examined at the light and electron microscopic levels. The study demonstrated that choline acetyltransferase- and substance P-like-immunoreactive neurons were homogenously present throughout fetal striatal grafts, although in decreased numbers compared with those in the normal rat striatum. The majority of the choline acetyltransferase-immunoreactive neurons had fusiform, oval, or polygonal somata with somatic diameters greater than 20 microns and contained deeply invaginated nuclei surrounded by copious cytoplasm. In addition, choline acetyltransferase-immunoreactive neurons with somatic diameters between 10 and 20 microns were also demonstrated. The grafts' substance P-like-immunoreactive neurons, which had somatic diameters between 10 and 25 microns and had oval or polygonal perikarya, could be classified into two types based on their ultrastructural characteristics. Type I neurons contained an unindented nucleus which was surrounded by a thin rim or moderate amount of cytoplasm, whereas Type II immunoreactive neurons contained an indented nucleus which was surrounded by copious cytoplasm. Choline acetyltransferase- and substance P-like-immunoreactive dendrites in the grafts' neuropil were contacted by multiple unlabeled axon terminals. In addition, choline acetyltransferase- and substance P-like-immunoreactive axon terminals forming symmetric contacts with unlabeled dendrites were present within the graft. The study demonstrated that many of the neuroanatomical features of choline acetyltransferase- and substance P-like-immunoreactive elements found in the normal rat striatum are present in mature fetal striatal grafts.

Distribution and cellular localization of preproenkephalin mRNA in the ovine brain and pituitary

In this study in situ hybridization histochemistry was used to determine the regional and cellular localization of preproenkephalin (PPE) mRNA in the sheep brain and pituitary. Coronal brain sections were hybridized with an 35S-labelled synthetic 45-mer deoxyribonucleotide probe complementary to a portion of the bovine PPE gene. The specificity of the probe was confirmed by Northern blot analysis. The highest density of labelled cell bodies was found in the nucleus accumbens, caudate-putamen, olfactory tubercle, the central nucleus of the amygdala, the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, the suprachiasmatic nucleus and in the gigantocellular division of the medullary reticular formation. Labelled cells were also found in the olfactory bulb, prefrontal cortex, piriform cortex and cerebral cortex and in the vicinity of the locus coeruleus, parabrachial nucleus and the nucleus of the solitary tract. In the pituitary a dense PPE mRNA signal was observed in the intermediate lobe; cells in the anterior or neural lobe did not express PPE mRNA. The widespread distribution of cells containing PPE mRNA transcripts within the ovine brain agrees with a similar distribution in the rat. The data suggest that PPE neurons may be involved in diverse physiological functions including the processing of sensory and nociceptive information and in the regulation of endocrine and motor responses.

Elevated expression of jun and fos-related proteins in transplanted striatal neurons

The basal expression of the immediate-early gene protein products fos, fos-related antigens (FRA's), jun and krox-24 was examined using immunocytochemical methods in intrastriatal grafts derived from fetal striatal primordia. Whereas very few, if any, normal adult striatal neurons expressed jun, many neurons in the striatal graft expressed jun at high levels. FRA's, but not fos, were also occasionally induced in some grafted striata. krox-24 was expressed in normal adult striatal neurons, and to a lesser extent in transplanted striatal neurons. These results show that neurons of intrastriatal grafts express jun at substantially higher levels than host striatal neurons, and this may be related to the previously reported increased transcription of neuropeptides in striatal grafts, and/or to the possible failure of transplanted neurons to fully establish normal connections with the host tissue.

Cellular localization of corticotropin releasing factor mRNA in the ovine brain

In this study in situ hybridization histochemistry was used to determine the regional distribution and cellular localization of corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) mRNA in the sheep brain. The highest densities of labelled cell bodies were found in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus and in the inferior olivary nuclei in the brain stem. Labelled cells were also found in every major cortical field as well as in the vicinity of the locus coeruleus and parabrachial nucleus and nucleus of the solitary tract. No CRF mRNA-expressing cells were found in the supraoptic nucleus or other diencephalic nuclei or in telencephalic and mesencephalic nuclei. The dense population of CRF mRNA-expressing cells in the PVN support the major role of CRF in the modulation of adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) and cortisol secretion. Moreover, the widespread distribution of CRF mRNA transcripts would suggest that there are distinct populations of CRF neurons with extrahypophysiotropic roles involved in the coordination and integration of endocrine, autonomic and behavioural responses in response to stress as well as in the control of complex cognitive and motor tasks.

Proenkephalin mRNA levels in rat striatum are increased and decreased, respectively, by selective D2 and D1 dopamine receptor antagonists

Rats were treated for 3 days with the selective D1 dopamine receptor antagonist SCH23390 (250 micrograms/kg i.p., 3 x daily), the selective D2 dopamine receptor antagonist YM-09151-M (500 micrograms/kg i.p., 2 x daily), or saline. The levels of striatal proenkephalin mRNA were then assayed by in-situ hybridisation histochemistry, using a synthetic oligonucleotide probe. Following YM-09151-M treatment, proenkephalin mRNA levels were dramatically raised in the striatum, compared to animals receiving vehicle injections. In contrast, rats treated with SCH23390 showed decreased striatal levels of proenkephalin mRNA. The results demonstrate that selective D2 receptor blockade leads to enhanced proenkephalin gene expression in rat striatum, while selective D1 receptor antagonism has the opposite effect.

Increased proenkephalin mRNA levels in the rat neostriatum following lesion of the ipsilateral nigrostriatal dopamine pathway with 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+): reversal by embryonic nigral dopamine grafts

In situ hybridization studies were performed to study the changes in proenkephalin mRNA levels in the neostriatum of rats with long-term (18 months) unilateral lesions of the nigrostriatal dopamine (DA) pathway induced by 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+) and in animals bearing embryonic DA grafts implanted into the DA depleted striatum. In the ipsilateral striatum of MPP(+)-lesioned animals, there was a 2-fold increase in the levels of proenkephalin mRNA compared with those in the contralateral striatum of the same animals or the ipsilateral striatum of control animals. High resolution analysis using emulsion autoradiography showed that increase in proenkephalin gene expression in response to DA-denervation by MPP+ was due to an increase in the hybridization signal over individual expressing cells as well as to an increase in the number of labelled cells. In the DA-grafted striatum the levels of proenkephalin mRNA were significantly (P less than 0.01) reduced when compared with those in the MPP(+)-lesioned striatum due to both a decrease in the number of labelled cells as well as the hybridization density per individual cell. Moreover, when compared with the ipsilateral striatum of control animals, the levels of proenkephalin mRNA in the DA-grafted striatum was slightly lower due to a 20% decrease in the number of labelled cells rather than a decrease in the hybridization signal per individual cell. The results of this study are important in two respects. Firstly, they clearly show that the increase in proenkephalin gene expression in the striatum of rats with complete nigrostriatal DA lesions, can be maintained for many months after the lesion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Experimental hemiparkinsonism in the rat following chronic unilateral infusion of MPP+ into the nigrostriatal dopamine pathway--III. Reversal by embryonic nigral dopamine grafts

In a previous study conducted over six months, we demonstrated that 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+) the active metabolite of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine, chronically infused (10 micrograms/24 h for seven days) into one median forebrain bundle of the rat can cause long-lasting damage to the nigrostriatal dopamine system. The present study was carried out in animals 18-19 months after MPP+ infusion to determine firstly, if the lesion was indeed permanent and secondly, if embryonic nigral dopamine suspension grafts implanted into the dopamine-denervated neostriatum can reverse the neurochemical and behavioural deficits induced by MPP+. All the animals within the MPP(+)-lesioned group showed robust contralateral and ipsilateral turning in response to apomorphine (0.05 mg/kg) and methamphetamine (2.5 mg/kg), respectively, at each time point of testing. In the grafted animals there was a progressive significant reduction in the number of rotations in response to both apomorphine and methamphetamine over the three-month test period. Autoradiographic analysis of [125I]sulpiride binding to striatal sections showed a 27% increase in dopamine D2 receptor density in the ipsilateral striatum of MPP(+)-lesioned animals. This increase in D2 receptor density was completely abolished by the dopamine grafts so that the D2 receptor density in the grafted striatum was similar to the contralateral striatum of MPP(+)-lesioned animals. This increase in D2 receptor density was completely abolished by the dopamine grafts so that the D2 receptor density in the grafted striatum was similar to the contralateral striatum of the grafted animals or the ipsilateral striatum of control non-lesioned animals. In all the animals of the lesioned and grafted groups there was a complete loss of dopamine neurons in the ipsilateral substantia nigra as demonstrated by tyrosine hydroxylase-immunohistochemistry and in-situ hybridization histochemistry. In all the animals that received nigral dopamine grafts, numerous cells were localized within the grafts which contained tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity and tyrosine hydroxylase mRNA. Moreover, immunohistochemical staining showed a dense network of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive fibres within the grafted striatum. The results of the present study are important in two respects. Firstly, they demonstrate that MPP+ infusions into the rat nigrostriatal dopamine pathway can produce a permanent degeneration of nigral dopamine neurons. Thus, in animals assessed 18-19 months after the initial MPP(+)-lesion there was no significant behavioural or neurochemical compensation with time. Secondly, the results clearly show that embryonic nigral dopamine grafts implanted into the dopamine-denervated striatum can reverse the behavioural and neurochemical deficits induced by MPP+.