Increased progenitor cell proliferation and astrogenesis in the partial progressive 6-hydroxydopamine model of Parkinson's disease.

The existence of endogenous progenitor cells in the adult mammalian brain presents an exciting and attractive alternative to existing therapeutic options for treating neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD). However, prior to designing endogenous cell therapies, the effect of PD neuropathology on endogenous progenitor cell proliferation and their neurogenic potential must be investigated. This study examined the effect of dopaminergic cell loss on the proliferation and differentiation of subventricular zone- (SVZ) and midbrain-derived progenitor cells in the adult rodent brain, using the partial progressive 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesion model of PD. Cell proliferation and differentiation were assessed with 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling and immunohistochemistry for cell type-specific markers. Tyrosine hydroxylase immunohistochemistry demonstrated a complete loss of nigrostriatal projections in the striatum and a subsequent progressive loss of dopamine (DA) cells in the SN. Quantification indicated that 6-OHDA lesion-induced cell degeneration produced a significant increase in BrdU immunoreactivity in the SVZ, ipsilateral to the lesioned hemisphere from 3 to 21 days post-lesion, compared with sham-lesioned animals. Similarly, in the striatum we observed a significant increase in the total number of BrdU positive cells in 6-OHDA-lesioned animals at all time points examined. More importantly, a significant increase in midbrain-derived BrdU positive cells was demonstrated in 6-OHDA-lesioned animals 28 days post-lesion. While we did not detect neurogenesis, BrdU labeled cells co-expressing the astrocytic marker glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were widely distributed throughout the 6-OHDA-lesioned striatum at all time points. In contrast, BrdU-labeled cells in the SN of 6-OHDA-lesioned animals did not co-express neural markers. These results demonstrate that DA-ergic neurodegeneration in the partial progressive 6-OHDA-lesioned rat brain increases SVZ- and midbrain-derived progenitor cell proliferation. While, newborn striatal progenitors undergo robust astrogenesis, newborn midbrain-derived progenitors remain in an undifferentiated state suggesting local environments differentially regulate endogenous progenitor cell populations in PD.