Propagated but Topologically Distributed Forebrain Neurons Expressing Alpha-Synuclein in Aged Macaques

In neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's disease (PD), alpha-synuclein (α-syn) accumulates to induce cell death and/or form a cytoplasmic inclusion called Lewy body (LB). This α-syn-related pathology is termed synucleinopathy. It remains unclear how α-syn accumulation expands during the progress of synucleinopathy in the human brain. In our study, we investigated the patterns of distribution and propagation of forebrain neurons expressing α-syn in aged macaques. It was found that the occurrence of α-syn-positive neurons proceeded topologically based on the midbrain dopamine pathways arising from the substantia nigra and the ventral tegmental area where they were primarily observed. In the nigrostriatal or mesolimbic dopamine pathway, the age-dependent increase in α-syn-positive neurons was evident in the striatum or the nucleus accumbens, respectively. Concerning the nigrostriatal pathway, a mediolateral or rostrocaudal gradient was seen in the substantia nigra or the striatum, respectively, and a compensatory increase in dopamine transporter occurred in the striatum regardless of the decreased dopamine level. In the mesocortical dopamine pathway, α-syn-positive neurons appeared in the prefrontal and then motor areas of the frontal lobe. Given that neither LB formation nor clinical phenotype manifestation was detected in any of the monkeys examined in the present study, aged macaques may be useful as a potential presymptomatic model for PD and LB-related neuropsychiatric disorders

Toxin-Based Rodent Models of Parkinson’s Disease

A major pathological hallmark of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a severe degeneration of dopamine (DA)-producing neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) projecting to the motor part of the striatum. Therefore, there is a long-standing interest in using animal models with severe nigrostriatal degeneration for experimental research. Pathophysiological and behavioral features of PD are best studied in mammalian species endowed with well-developed corticobasal ganglia thalamocortical loops, such as rodents. Different toxins can be used to generate nigrostriatal damage, including 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), paraquat, and rotenone. Models based on 6-OHDA lesions provide the main advantage of a severe and reproducible DA lesions. Models based on MPTP provide easy and versatile tools to rapidly evaluate potential neuroprotective treatments. Models based on paraquat and rotenone are appealing for their relevance to some well-known environmental risk factors of the human PD, although they yield only partial dopaminergic degeneration and entail a considerable risk of nonspecific toxicity. The main general limitation of neurotoxin-based models is that they do not replicate some characterizing features of PD pathology, such as the formation of Lewy body–like proteinaceous aggregates or the anatomical pattern of neurodegeneration, which also affects nondopaminergic brain regions