Volume 17, Number 18,
Issue of September 15, 1997
pp. 7111-7118
Copyright ©1997 Society for Neuroscience
GDNF Protection against 6-OHDA: Time Dependence and Requirement
for Protein Synthesis
Received May 12, 1997; revised June 24, 1997; accepted June 30, 1997.
Cecilia M. Kearns1,
Wayne A. Cass1,
Kyle Smoot1,
Richard Kryscio2, and
Don M. Gash1
1 Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of
Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky 40536, and
2 Department of Biostatistics, University of Kentucky
Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky 40536
Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) injected
intranigrally protects midbrain dopamine neurons against
6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) toxicity. The timing between GDNF
administration and exposure to 6-OHDA is critical in achieving optimal
protection. When injected 6 hr before an intranigral injection of
6-OHDA, GDNF provides complete protection as measured by the number of surviving neurons in the substantia nigra of adult rats. The surviving neuronal population decreases by ~50% with 12 and 24 hr separating GDNF and 6-OHDA administrations. In controls with 6-OHDA lesions, there
is <10% survival of nigral dopamine neurons. No significant increase
in survival is seen with either concurrent injections of GDNF and
6-OHDA or 1 hr GDNF pretreatment. Based on HPLC measurements, striatal
and midbrain dopamine levels are at least twofold higher on the
lesioned side in animals receiving GDNF 6 hr before a 6-OHDA lesion
compared with vehicle recipients. Protein synthesis is necessary for
GDNF-induced neuroprotective effects because cycloheximide pretreatment
that inhibits protein synthesis also blocks neuroprotection.
Key words:
GDNF;
6-OHDA;
neuroprotection;
substantia nigra;
dopamine
neurons;
cycloheximide