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Contralateral Retinal Dopamine Decrease and Melatonin Increase in Progression of Hemiparkinsonium Rat

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Abstract

Both dopamine (DA) and melatonin (MLT) are abundant neuromodulators located in vertebrate retina. The retinal DA deficiency and variations in MLT levels have been linked to Parkinson’s disease (PD). No studies have investigated the ipsilateral and contralateral DA and MLT in retina and their relationships in 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) induced hemiparkinsonian rats. We established PD rat model by unilateral injection of 6-OHDA into the right substantia nigra and the right medial forebrain bundle. Eye tissue was collected and the levels of MLT and DA were measured twice daily at 10:00 and 22:00. The concentrations of DA and its metabolites, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA), as well as MLT were determined by HPLC. The results show that DA levels in the eye contralateral to the side of a unilateral intracerebral 6-OHDA lesion significantly decreased (P < 0.001). Both the ratios of DOPAC/DA and HVA/DA were increased in comparison with the vehicle groups after 3 weeks post-lesion. The concentrations of MLT at 10:00 and 22:00 in both eyes were distinctly increased compared with the vehicle groups (P < 0.05). The change of DA and its metabolites, as well as MLT appeared to correlate well with the rotation behavior of rats. These findings suggest that rats receive a unilateral intracerebral injection of 6-OHDA that mainly causes the contralateral eye destruction of DA-containing neurons. Increased retinal MLT level probably is associated with the progression of PD.

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Abbreviations

PD:

Parkinson’s disease

DA:

Dopamine

MLT:

Melatonin

NSD:

Nigrostriatal dopamine

RHT:

Retinohypothalamic tract

6-OHDA:

6-Hydroxydopamine

SNc:

Substantia nigra pars compacta

MFB:

Medial forebrain bundle

INL:

Inner nuclear layer

IPL:

Inner plexiform layer

PBS:

Phosphate-buffered saline

DOPAC:

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic acid

HVA:

Homovanillic acid

HPLC:

High performance liquid chromatography

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Fu-Chou Cheng for criticism, discussion and advice on the manuscript, These studies were supported by grants from the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province (No. 2010J01175) and Professor Foundation of Fujian Medical University (No. JS10002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350004, China

    Tao Meng, Zhi-Hong Zheng, Ting-Ting Liu & Ling Lin

  2. Research Center of Neurobiology, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350004, China

    Zhi-Hong Zheng & Ling Lin

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  1. Tao Meng
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  2. Zhi-Hong Zheng
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  3. Ting-Ting Liu
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  4. Ling Lin
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Correspondence to Ling Lin.

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Meng, T., Zheng, ZH., Liu, TT. et al. Contralateral Retinal Dopamine Decrease and Melatonin Increase in Progression of Hemiparkinsonium Rat. Neurochem Res 37, 1050–1056 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-012-0706-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-012-0706-4

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