Abstract
An animal model of experimental autoimmune nigral damage (EAND) has been developed in guinea pigs by immunization with hybrid dopaminergic cells (MES 23.5). In such animals, loss of 40% of the substantia nigra (SN) neurons and damage to an additional 10% of SN neurons was associated with a 37-43% decrease of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity and a 36% decrease of dopamine (DA) content in the nigral-striatum. Eight of the thirteen animals developed significant hypokinesia. The EAND model suggests that degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in SN can be caused by immune-mediated processes, which may help our understanding of the pathogenesis in Parkinson's disease.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 45-53 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Journal of Neuroimmunology |
Volume | 57 |
Issue number | 1-2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 1995 |
Keywords
- Autoimmunity
- Dopaminergic neurons
- Parkinson's disease
- Substantia nigra
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neurology
- Clinical Neurology
- Immunology and Allergy
- Immunology