ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Paraquat-induced model of Parkinson’s disease and detection of phosphorylated α-synuclein in the enteric nervous system of rats

About authors

Research Center of Neurology, Moscow, Russia

Correspondence should be addressed: Alla V. Stavrovskaya
Per. Obukha 5, Moscow, 103064; ur.liam@vats_alla

About paper

Funding: this work supported by the Russian Science Foundation (Grant 19-15-00320).

Acknowledgement: the authors thank their colleagues, Olshansky AS and Yamshchikova NG (the Laboratory of Experimental Pathology of the Nervous System), for their valuable contribution.

Author contribution: Stavrovskaya AV planned the study, analyzed the literature, collected, analyzed and interpreted the obtained data, conducted behavioral tests, administered drugs to the animals, and prepared the draft of the manuscript; Voronkov DN analyzed the literature, analyzed and interpreted the obtained data, prepared brain slides, conducted the histopathologic examination, and prepared the draft of the manuscript; Kutukova KA analyzed the literature, analyzed the obtained data, prepared jejunum slides, carried out the histopathologic examination, and prepared the draft of the manuscript; Ivanov MV prepared jejunum slides and carried out the histopathologic examination; Gushchina AS collected data, administered drugs to the rats, carried out behavioral tests, and monitored the animals’ health as a vet; Illarioshkin SN supervised the study and prepared the draft of the manuscript.

Received: 2019-08-12 Accepted: 2019-08-26 Published online: 2019-09-14
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Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder with a variety of motor and non-motor features. Non-motor symptoms, such as gastrointestinal dysfunction, usually set in 5 to 15 years earlier than motor manifestations. Cytoplasmic aggregates of phosphorylated α-synuclein are a typical marker of PD. They are observed not only in cerebral neurons but also in intramural plexuses of the intestine. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the peripheral component of the molecular pathogenesis of the disease using PD models, including those involving the use of parkinsonian neurotoxins, such as the well-known herbicide paraquat. The aim of this study was to identify a complex of early α-synuclein-related changes induced by long-term systemic administration of paraquat to rats at doses of 6 mg/kg. The open-field test revealed a decline in the motor activity of the experimental animals; the tapered beam walking test demonstrated a two-fold increase (р = 0.044) in the number of left paw slips. Besides, the intensity of staining for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in the substantia nigra and myenteric plexus fibers was 50% (р = 0.033) and 20% (р = 0.01) lower, respectively, in the main group than in the controls. Phosphorylated α-synuclein content was increased in the cell bodies of myenteric neurons and in TH-positive nervous fibers of the experimental animals. Changes indicating the development of peripheral α-synuclein pathology in the early stage of induced PD are similar to the changes observed in patients with PD at the onset of the disease. The proposed paraquat regimen could be very promising for PD modeling.

Keywords: Parkinson’s disease, animal models, α-synuclein, paraquat, behavior, tyrosine hydroxylase

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