Dataset Information

Female Rats Are Resistant to Cognitive, Motor and Dopaminergic Deficits in the Reserpine-Induced Progressive Model of Parkinson's Disease.

ABSTRACT: Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. The main symptoms are motor signs such as resting tremor and difficulty in initializing movements. Non-motor alterations, such as cognitive deficits, can precede the motor symptoms. PD is more frequent in men than women. The mechanisms related to this difference are not completely understood. There is evidence that females present distinct characteristics in dopaminergic function compared to males. While the severity of motor impairments is often compared between sexes, little is known about sex differences in the prodromal stage. Most animal models of PD present acute severe motor impairment, which precludes the study of non-motor symptoms. Our research group have proposed an adaptation of the classic reserpine protocol, using low doses in a chronic treatment. This method allows the observation of progressive motor impairment as well as premotor deficits. Here we investigate possible behavioral and neuronal sex differences in the effects of the repeated treatment with a low dose of reserpine in rats. Male and female Wistar rats received 10-15 injections of reserpine (0.1 mg/kg) or vehicle, on alternate days. We followed-up the estrous cycle phases and conducted motor and cognitive assessments (catalepsy, open field, oral movements and object recognition tests). The euthanasia occurred 48 h after the 10th or 15th injections, with the collection of blood for the quantification of sex hormones and brains for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunohistochemistry in the substantia nigra pars compact (SNpc). Reserpine induced progressive catalepsy, involuntary oral movements and cognitive deficits in male rats. The behavioral effects of reserpine were attenuated (motor) or absent (cognitive) in females. Reserpine decreased TH immunoreactivity in males, but not in females. Estrogen levels in females negatively correlated with catalepsy duration. Our findings show that females present a delay and/or a prevention in the reserpine-induced motor alterations in the progressive PD model, compatible with the lower prevalence of this disease in women. Further, females were protected from the deficit in object recognition at the prodromal stage. The absence of reserpine-induce decrease in TH immunoreactivity suggests that differences in dopaminergic function/plasticity are related to this protection in female sex.

SUBMITTER: Lima AC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8573221 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Female Rats Are Resistant to Cognitive, Motor and Dopaminergic Deficits in the Reserpine-Induced Progressive Model of Parkinson's Disease.

Lima Alvaro C AC Meurer Ywlliane S R YSR Bioni Vinicius S VS Cunha Débora M G DMG Gonçalves Narriman N Lopes-Silva Leonardo B LB Becegato Marcela M Soares Manuela B L MBL Marinho Gabriela F GF Santos José R JR Silva Regina H RH

Frontiers in aging neuroscience 20211025

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. The main symptoms are motor signs such as resting tremor and difficulty in initializing movements. Non-motor alterations, such as cognitive deficits, can precede the motor symptoms. PD is more frequent in men than women. The mechanisms related to this difference are not completely understood. There is evidence that females present distinct characteristics in dopaminergic function compared to males. While the severity o ...[more]

PMID: 34759815

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Project description:Cognitive impairment is a common non-motor feature of Parkinson's disease (PD). Understanding the neural mechanisms of this deficit is crucial for the development of efficient methods for treatment monitoring and augmentation of cognitive functions in PD patients. The current study aimed to investigate resting state fMRI correlates of cognitive impairment in PD from a large-scale network perspective, and to assess the impact of dopamine deficiency on these networks. Thirty PD patients with resting state fMRI were included from the Parkinson's Progression Marker Initiative (PPMI) database. Eighteen patients from this sample were also scanned with (123)I-FP-CIT SPECT. A standardized neuropsychological battery was administered, evaluating verbal memory, visuospatial, and executive cognitive domains. Image preprocessing was performed using an SPM8-based workflow, obtaining time-series from 90 regions-of-interest (ROIs) defined from the AAL brain atlas. The Brain Connectivity Toolbox (BCT) was used to extract nodal strength from all ROIs, and modularity of the cognitive circuitry determined using the meta-analytical software Neurosynth. Brain-behavior covariance patterns between cognitive functions and nodal strength were estimated using Partial Least Squares. Extracted latent variable (LV) scores were matched with the performances in the three cognitive domains (memory, visuospatial, and executive) and striatal dopamine transporter binding ratios (SBR) using linear modeling. Finally, influence of nigrostriatal dopaminergic deficiency on the modularity of the "cognitive network" was analyzed. For the range of deficits studied, better executive performance was associated with increased dorsal fronto-parietal cortical processing and inhibited subcortical and primary sensory involvement. This profile was also characterized by a relative preservation of nigrostriatal dopaminergic function. The profile associated with better memory performance correlated with increased prefronto-limbic processing, and was not associated with presynaptic striatal dopamine uptake. SBR ratios were negatively correlated with modularity of the "cognitive network," suggesting integrative effects of the preserved nigrostriatal dopamine system on this circuitry.

Dataset Information

Female Rats Are Resistant to Cognitive, Motor and Dopaminergic Deficits in the Reserpine-Induced Progressive Model of Parkinson's Disease.

Publications

Female Rats Are Resistant to Cognitive, Motor and Dopaminergic Deficits in the Reserpine-Induced Progressive Model of Parkinson's Disease.

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