Systemic administration of rotenone produces selective damage in the striatum and globus pallidus, but not in the substantia nigra.

Complex I dysfunction has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease and in the neurotoxicity of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), which produces a Parkinsonian syndrome in experimental animals and humans. Rotenone is an insecticide which is a specific inhibitor of complex I. We examined the pattern of central nervous system damage produced by i.v. systemic administration of rotenone in rats. Rotenone produced selective damage in the striatum and the globus pallidus, but the substantia nigra was spared. These results are consistent with prior reports suggesting that the selective vulnerability of the substantia nigra to MPTP involves both uptake by the dopamine transporter as well as complex I inhibition, and they show that rotenone produces a unique pattern of central nervous system damage.