Effect of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine on Phosphorylated Neurofilament in Brain Cortex of Rat Model for Parkinson’s Disease

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting people over 60 years old. Although many studies on PD focused on basal ganglia, it has been reported that other brain regions might be involved. The current work investigated the effect of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) injection on the brain cortex of PD rat model using Western blotting, immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence techniques against phophorylated neurofilament antibody (pNF). A highly significant increase of pNF protein level in the treated rats was recorded using western blot as compared to the control rats. At the same time, Immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence analyses showed that the neuronal perikarya of the cerebral cortex of MPTP-treated rats were strongly immunopositive towards pNF. Meanwhile, axons and dendrites of the cerebral cortical neurons were selectively immunoreactive for pNF in the control rats. This study suggested that MPTP injection increased the level of pNF protein and its perikaryal accumulation with axonal reduction in the cortex of PD rat model. These variations might have an important role in the understanding of the pathologic mechanism of PD.