GM1 monosialoganglioside inner ester induces early recovery of striatal dopamine uptake in rats with unilateral nigrostriatal lesion.

The experiments concerned the effect of parenteral administration of GM1 monosialoganglioside inner ester on the uptake of [3H]dopamine ([3H]DA) in synaptosomes prepared from the corpus striatum of rats with a unilateral lesion of the nigrostriatal pathway. In the animals treated with the ganglioside, starting on the 2nd day after lesion, the apparent Vmax of [3H]DA uptake (desipramine-insensitive) showed a marked recovery (from 10% to 33% of the controlateral side) as early as after 3 days of treatment, with no changes in the apparent Km values.